Young Justice
by FeministPansy
Summary: Send in OCs. Canon version of Young Justice with the addition of OCs and an additional plot.
1. Independence Day

"Aww man! I knew we'd be the last ones!" Kid Flash whined, upon seeing the other three superhero tag teams gathered in front of the League of Justice. He threw a glare at his mentor, crossing his arms and pouting bitterly.

The Green Arrow chuckled whole-heartedly at the irony and stepped forward as Batman took the liberty of welcoming the two. He waited for the dark knight to finish before chiming in, "Actually son, you'll be happy to know we have two more guests to wait on."

Kid Flash looked up at him in surprise along with the other sidekicks. As if on cue, a black portal formed on the ground beside them and two figures rose from the concrete. One was the seductive blonde known as Black Canary and the other was a skinny girl with lustrous, bouncy curls and doe-like eyes. She smirked at the group and held out her hands, palms facing the floor. They glowed in a black energy as the portal shrank before the two women's feet.

"Black Canary," Batman greeted again before turning to the younger girl. "You must be Canary's protégé, Glitch. We've heard excellent things about you."

"Thank you," the girl bowed pleasantly, showing Batman all the respect he rightfully deserved. "It's wonderful to finally meet you all."

Kid Flash's eyes brightened and he opened his mouth to say something flirty when Speedy interrupted him. "Great. Now that everyone's here, can we move things along?"

The Green Arrow sighed and smiled sheepishly at Batman, silently apologizing for the bluntness of his apprentice. Batman ignored it, letting it slide by as he nodded and led the way. The younger superheroes smiled excitedly as they followed their elders down the tourist lined path. They waved excitedly as the fans took pictures and waved to them.

"This is so great! Today's the day!" Kid Flash exclaimed excitedly, catching up with the group easily.

"I'm glad we're all here," Aqualad added sincerely, having known the others briefly through previous events. He turned to their newest member and smiled, letting her know that she was included in that statement. Glitch met his eyes gratefully and nodded gratefully for the kindness.

"Isn't it great? Having all four sidekicks here at the same time?" Kid Flash beamed before catching himself and turning to Glitch. "I mean five!"

"Stop," Speedy scowled. "We're not sidekicks. Not after today."

"Sorry," Kid Flash frowned, trying to explain himself. "First time at the hall."

"I hope you don't mind," Black Canary spoke up as they approached the entrance of the Hall of Justice. "I thought Glitch would do better with others, so I added her in last minute."

"That's fine, Canary," Green Arrow eased, smiling at her graciously. "I'm sure she'll be a most welcome addition."

Black Canary smiled back at him as they made it to the door. The steel entrance beeped and slid open to reveal Green Martian and Red Tornado. "Robin, Speedy, Aqualad, Kid Flash, Glitch, welcome. You now have unlimited access to the Hall of Justice."

Green Martian turned on them and began leading the group inside with Red Tornado as he explained things to them. As they took the tour, Robin and Kid Flash shared twin grins and bumped fists in recognition. Green Martian led them into the library and trailed off as Flash took over the tour. He smiled widely and stretched out his arms, "Make yourselves at home."

The teens looked around and did as they were told. Robin jumped into one of the seats, sinking in deep because of his size while both Aqualad and Kid Flash offered a seat to Glitch.

"After you, my lady," Kid Flash joked, taking her hand and gesturing to his seat. Glitch grinned and sat down as Kid Flash stole the arm of her chair for his own bum while Aqualad and Speedy found seats of their own.

"We're going to have a quick debrief about the coincidence of four ice villains attacking on the same day. We won't be long," Batman excused himself and the others as they gathered further back in the room. A scanner hovered over them, materializing itself from the ceiling as it read their bio markers. Once it confirmed the members, a room in the back opened and the Leaguers moved to enter when Speedy snarled and got up, chasing after them.

"That's it? You promised us a real look inside, not a glorified backstage pass!"

Robin and the others widened their eyes at the statement, surprised by the other's boldness. The adults, however, handled the situation calmly. Aquaman stepped forward, being one of the more rational ones in the group. "It's a first step. You've been granted access few others get."

"Oh, really?" Speedy asked doubtfully, holding his arm out to display the glass panel placed above them for the tourists to take pictures.

"Roy," Green Arrow said sternly. "You just need to be patient."

"What I need is respect," Speedy demanded and glared.

"Hold on," Black Canary intervened. "I get it. You don't want to be treated like a sidekick anymore. Why don't you let us have our debrief and we'll discuss this when we get back?"

"I've heard that before," Speedy glared, remaining irresolute of anything they said. What Black Canary had said was just another tactic of getting kids to calm down. He turned away from them and made his appeal to the others sitting down. "They keep treating us like kids. Worse, like sidekicks! We deserve better than this."

His rally was meant with uncertain stares as the other four looked to each other for a response. They all seemed pretty content with where they were at. Speedy's eyes widened as he realized he was the only one upset over the outcome of their visit. "You're kidding, right? You're playing their game? Why?! Today was supposed to be _the_ day. Step one of becoming a full time member of the league!"

"This is step one," Glitch argued worriedly, frowning in her seat.

"Yeah, a tour of the HQ," Kid Flash agreed, hoping to calm down his friend before he made a mistake.

"Except the Hall isn't the real HQ!" Speedy countered angrily, working himself up and earning very startled reactions from the Leaguers behind him. "It's a front for tourists and a pit stop to catch zeta beam teleporting tubes to the real HQ the Watchtower, an orbiting satellite in space!"

The Green Arrow grimaced and turned back to his fellow members feeling a number of disapproving stares on his back. Batman crossed his arms and frowned, waiting for an explanation.

"I thought we could make an exception?" Arrow excused himself weakly. If anything, the disapproving looks he received only intensified and he sighed deeply, slumping in defeat. "I know."

"You are not helping your cause here, son. If you want to prove yourself capable of being a member of the Justice League, behaving like a child won't help you," Aquaman stepped in again, staring at the younger condescendingly.

Speedy's eyes flared with anger at that as he took his hat and threw it down. "Fine, I don't need you guys telling me what to do and how to act. I'm not a kid I know I'm ready whether you decide I am or not."

He threw one last glare at them and spun on his heel, heading for the exit confidently. He glared at the other attendees and walked past them. "Guess they're right about you four. You're not ready."

The four of them stood up in surprise, stunned by how quickly things had escalated. Glitch held a hand out, making it glow black as she stared after Speedy in alarm. A hand on her shoulder stopped her from whatever it was she was about to do and she turned to the owner of the hand.

"Let him blow off some steam," Canary advised, taking her glowing hand and seating her back down as the group began to recover from what happened. At that moment, an urgent message appeared on the giant screen behind them and Superman appeared bearing a message.

"Superman to Justice League: There's been an explosion at Project Cadmus. It's on fire."

"I've had my suspicions about Cadmus," Batman replied, taking control. "This may present the perfect opportunity to-"

Another urgent message interrupted him as a smaller screen appeared in the corner and another Leaguer revealed himself. "Zatara to Justice League: The sorcerer Wotan is using the Amulet of Aten to block out the sun. Requesting full League response."

Batman turned to Superman as the other replied, "It's a small fire. Local authorities are already taking care of it."

"Then Cadmus can wait," Batman concluded, punching in a code to the super computer as both Superman and Zatara logged out of the screen. He punched in a code to contact all Leaguers and quickly conveyed the message. He turned back to their apprentices and told them to stay put.

"What? Why?" Robin asked, becoming suspicious of the League's motives for them after what Speedy had revealed.

"This is a League mission," Aquaman argued, putting his hands on his hips as the three boys gathered in front of them while Glitch stayed off to the side with Canary.

"You're not trained," Flash added, hoping to quell any more defiant outbursts.

"Since when?" Kid Flash scowled, quickly putting an end to that hope.

Flash frowned and gestured to his teammates, "I meant you're not trained to work as part of this team."

"There'll be other missions," Aquaman , learning his lesson from his exchange with Speedy.

"But for now," Batman repeated himself, giving a look of warning to his own helping hand, "Stay put."

"Same goes to you," Canary ordered Glitch as she joined up with the rest and left the room, leaving the four of them alone.

"Speedy's right," Kid Flash scowled, upset at how easily they were turned over. Today _was_ the day. "They treat us like sidekicks!"

Aqualad looked down dejectedly, "My king…I thought he trusted me."

"Trust? They don't even trust us with the basics! They've got a secret HQ in space!" Kid Flash exclaimed, sounding much more upset about not being able to go into space rather than the secrecy.

"What else aren't they telling us?" Aqualad asked.

"I have a better question: Why didn't we leave with Speedy?" Robin threw in, clenching his fists at being tossed to the side by the man who practically raised him.

"Hold on a minute. I'm sure they had their reasons," Glitch spoke up, intervening with their pity party.

"Easy for you to say," Kid Flash countered, crossing his arms. "You haven't been by their side for as long as we have."

Glitch scowled, but went quiet. She didn't have a counterargument for that, so protesting would be useless if they didn't think her opinions were validated. She settled on blowing steam and crossing her arms, fuming silently to herself. Meanwhile, Aqualad developed a peculiar looking expression as he pondered what else the Leaguers were hiding from them. "What is Project Cadmus?"

"Don't know," Robin frowned, though that was quickly replaced by a mischievous smile. "But I can find out."

He approached the super computer with the others, earning an alarmed look from Glitch. A portal opened up above the keyboard, causing Robin to jump back and turn to her.

"Oh no you don't," Glitch said. "We have to stay out of trouble."

Robin scowled and muttered something under his breath while Kid Flash shot her a sharp look, "Don't you want to know what they've been keeping from us?"

Glitch faltered, but her portal stayed up. She admitted she was curious, but she held a lot of respect for her mentor and wasn't going to disobey her so easily. Kid Flash continued, "Oh, come on. Superman said it was just a campfire. What harm could we do?"

Glitch surveyed them warily before sighing and putting her hands down, joining them a few seconds later. Robin leaped at the keyboard and punched in a few codes, earning a big, old 'Access Denied' message on the screen. He laughed, "Wanna bet?"

He punched in a few more codes and soon enough, the computer was handing out information on a silver platter. Robin smirked, "Same system as the Batcave."

Glitch paled as she was now sure they were doing something bad, but it seemed she was too late to stop them. Aqualad, noticing her discomfort, put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her as Robin looked up the information he wanted. She gave him a weak smile and turned her attention back to the front as Robin began reading the documents aloud. "Alright, Project Cadmus: A genetics lab here in D.C. That's all there is, but if Batman's suspicious, maybe we should investigate."

"Solve their case before they do," Aqualad guessed as Robin and Kid Flash seemed to be on board with the idea. "It would be poetic justice."

"And they're all about justice," Robin added, glad to be doing something important rather than sitting and waiting for everyone to come back like a good little boy.

Aqualad sighed, unwilling to disobey his King's orders. "They said 'stay put.'"

"From the blotting out the sun mission," Robin said, easily finding a loophole.

"Sweet! I'm in!" Kid Flash volunteered, beaming at Robin's devilish little head. The two of them turned to the others expectantly, waiting for their answer.

"Just like that? We're a team on a mission?" Aqualad asked doubtfully, still holding a few reserves.

"We didn't come for a play date," Robin reminded, smirking as he knew he got Aqualad's vote.

They turned to Glitch who had turned a shade paler as their conversation continued. "I think I'm going to be sick."

"Look, you don't have to do anything," Robin persuaded as Aqualad steadied her. "Just teleport us there and teleport back. They'll never know."

"Right," Glitch said, closing her eyes and taking a moment to focus as she leaned against the Atlantian for support, deciding to help them at least that much. A split second later, the four were surrounded by a black energy and sucked through the floor.

**A/N: Hey, so thats it for the intro. Send me in your OCs via comment or direct message and I'll update soon.**

**UPDATE: I have received a lot of heroes, therefore any new ones sent in now will either be saved for next season or much later in the story line. I do have room for villains though, so send them in if you wanted your OC to be featured sooner.**

Name:

Age:

Appearance (include day clothes):

Personality:

Hero? Villain?

Superhero Name:

Costume:

Abilities/Powers:

Relations to anyone? (May be tweaked)

Extra Comments:


	2. Fireworks

"Dude!" Kid Flash exclaimed as the group rose from the ground in front of Cadmus. He shivered uncomfortably as he felt the cool relief of air against his face. Inside the portal everything was black and cold. Nothing but emptiness. "That was way creepy."

He turned to Glitch and shuddered, "Never do that again."

The corner of Glitch's lips turned up as Kid Flash shook himself out, attempting to get rid of the feeling of nothingness. She looked to the other two and found that they were also unsettled. She shrugged it off, figuring they didn't understand. The voids she created always protected her. She never felt unnerved by their wintry recesses.

"Help!" A panicked voice interrupted them, turning their attention towards the still burning fire. Two men were trapped at the top floor, yelling down as the firefighters did their best to assist them.

"I hope you're willing to stick around," Aqualad yelled back at her, already running off with the others. Glitch rolled her eyes at him; of course, she had to stay now. The ground melted beneath her, oozing black as her body became enshrouded with the dark energy. She sunk through the floor quickly as the portal closed over her. She appeared a second later in the window of the building. The scientists turned in surprise at her arrival. Glitch had no time to speak with them as an explosion boomed behind them, rocking the building. Her eyes widened as she turned quickly, throwing up a portal to absorb the blast of the explosion.

The men screamed behind her, being blown back and off their feet by the force of the explosion, despite the protection from the portal. They fell through the window and began to fall when a flash of red and yellow swept them up and threw them up to the roof of the building before losing momentum and falling down, revealing itself to be Kid Flash. Kid squeaked as he scrambled for a hold on the bare wall. A gloved hand shot out suddenly as he slipped further down. Kid Flash quickly grabbed on and pulled himself up with the help of his savior. Once he was safely back inside the building, he looked up to see Robin grinning down at him, hand still entwined with his.

"Thanks, dude. I owe you," Kid said as he panted against the ground. As he recovered himself, Aqualad could be seen outside of the window, rising into the air on a vortex of water.

"Get on!" He called to the men as he brought the vortex beside them. The scientists hopped on timidly, jumping against their rational thought. They squawked in surprise as the water held them up safely, going against it's nature. Aqualad ignored their surprise and led them back down while the flames grew behind them.

"Look out!" A female voice yelled as another explosion rocked the building, blowing devastating debris into the hero's path. Before Aqualad could respond to the danger, a barricade of green energy materialized in front of them, protecting him and the helping bystanders.

Aqualad instinctively protected the nearest bodies with his own, but upon the absence of danger, he relaxed and looked up curiously. Floating above him, was a Green Lantern. This one was a woman, a young girl by the looks of it with long brunette hair and the standard jumpsuit except with white accents instead of black ones.

She held out her fist and retracted the shield as Kid, Robin, and Glitch crammed themselves in the window to get a look at the new hero. The Lantern raised a brow at them and flew to the side where the building melded into a burning inferno. "I know I'm pretty hot, but if you'd turn your attention over here, you'll find something way hotter."

Blushing in embarrassment, Kid Flash and Robin moved to help but Glitch beat them to it. She materialized next to the willful hero and conjured up a portal beneath her, allowing her to displace the gravity pulling her down. She floated beside the other and held her hands out, capturing the burning floor in one of her portals. She crossed her hands and the portal collapsed, taking with it every flame within the building.

Lantern nodded, impressed, and turned away from her, floating down beside Aqualad. He recalled his weapons and tucked them back in place as his teammates gathered around him. "Thank you for your help. May I ask your name?"

"Green Lantern," the girl replied, then tilted her head and smiled devilishly. "But that's not really helpful, is it? Call me Emma. Emma Jordan."

"Emma Jordan," Aqualad repeated, crossing his arms. While he remained faithful in the goodness of the Green Lanterns, he found himself wondering her reasons for being there. Only two Lanterns were ever present on Earth and he was fairly certain that both of them were currently deployed, so what was a third doing here?

"What business do you have here?" he asked skeptically, intending to find out.

"Just heading home when I stumbled upon this mess," she answered, only half-lying. In fact, she had very clearly been told to stay and train with her Uncle Kilowog in Bolovax Vik by her Uncle Jordan, but that got tiring fast. Kilowog was a loveable oaf, but he worked her to the bone! It didn't matter how close to family they were, Kilowog made sure she finished every day with supper and an overly depleted energy reserve. So she left. What better way to train, than experience first hand, right?

"I wasn't aware Earth had another Lantern to protect it. Surely, the Earth is very fortunate to have so many guardians," Aqualad complimented back-handedly, still suspicious.

Emma grimaced, knowing he had caught her in her lie. She tried to cover herself up, though something told her he wasn't going to buy it. "I'm more like the reserve of the reserve."

He raised a brow and Emma sighed, "Fine. I'm not supposed to be here. I came so I could do some real training and not repeat the same daily monkey tricks they have me doing back in boot camp."

She crossed her arms and huffed, expecting them to chastise her or rat her out. However, she was surprised when the younger of the group smiled back at her. Robin stepped forward, grinning mischievously as Kid Flash leaned against him cooly, "Looks like you came to the right place."

Aqualad sighed, setting off his suspicions as he bought into her story. "It would seem we have similar origins."

"Wait, you guys too?" Emma asked in shock. She felt a bit relieved that she wasn't the only one wanting to break the order of things around here.

The others nodded and Kid Flash walked up to her, smiling charmingly and extending a hand. "So, wanna join the team?"

"You bet," Emma replied, swatting his hand away and walking past the speedster, joining the group. She smiled as she stood in their ranks before turning to Aqualad and shoving him a moment later. "You had the gall to berate me for disobeying orders when you were doing the same thing?"

Aqualad sighed again and rubbed his shoulder, slightly surprised by the strength of her punch. "I apologize."

Emma hmphed and crossed her arms as Aqualad recovered and informed her of their mission, "We're investigating a suspicious organization in place of the Justice League to prove that we are capable heroes. Not sidekicks."

"Wholly breaking the rules," Robin threw in, snatching a look back at Glitch who looked mortified by the comment. He laughed, eager to go on. He slapped Flash on the back and started running back towards the building, "Come on! Let's get this done before they realize we're gone."

He shot his grappling hook through the window and catapulted himself to the top floor. He was quickly joined by Kid and in the next second and they both disappeared behind the window in search of clues. Emma followed right behind them, forming a platform of energy and carrying herself inside.

Aqualad frowned as he stared after them with Glitch, "This team needs work."

Glitch remained silent as she extended a hand out and placed it on his shoulder, engulfing them in black energy and transporting them alongside their teammates. Robin was already going through the computer's databases while Kid and Lantern looked around. Glitch and Aqualad shared a look and decided to investigate another room while the other three took care of that one. They walked into the hallway and inspected either side.

"There," Aqualad said, spying a horned figure standing in the elevator before the doors closed it off from view. Glitch turned around and looked towards the metal door as they were joined by their teammates.

"Elevators should be locked down," Kid reported as he sped into the room. Robin narrowed his eyes and retrieved one of his many devices. A screen extended from the device and scanned the elevator.

He grimaced, "This is wrong. This is a high-speed express elevator; it doesn't belong in a two-story building."

"Neither does what I saw," Aqualad replied, stepping up to the elevator and prying it open, revealing a dark railway extending far below the ground.

"That explains the elevator," Robin commented off-handedly as he stepped in front of Aqualad and shot a grappling rope into the annex of the elevator shaft. He checked to see if it was secure before jumping down into the abyss fearlessly. Kid, Aqualad, and Glitch followed after him, hitching a ride on the rope as Emma flew down beside them.

Further down the line, Robin came to an abrupt stop as the rope came to an end. He frowned and swung towards the ledge of the shaft, "We're on foot from here, guys."

Aqualad and Kid swung over and hopped onto the ledge with Robin while Glitch teleported herself beside them. Robin moved to the side and typed onto his holographic keypad, the elevator doors opening in front of them a second later.

The group stepped out and surveyed the room in awe. Long tunnels extended deep within the ground, lined by blinking lights and metal pipes. "Welcome to Project Cadmus."

Kid set his goggles over his eyes, deciding for himself to scout ahead. Aqualad called after him, but it was too late. Kid had already ran straight into a marching line of horrible beasts. Glitch held her hand out and summoned a portal below him, sinking him through the floor and returning him back to their side as one of the beast's massive foot stomped over his previous location.

Glitch helped him up as everyone approached the beasts from down the hall in stunned wonder. The giant life forms growled and snarled at them, but continued on as tiny little creatures perched on their heads turned to them and glowed red.

"Nothing odd going on here," Aqualad said sarcastically, staring after the beasts as they disappeared down another hall.

"Come on," Robin called, already disappearing down another hallway.

"Robin, wait!" Aqualad hissed, running after him with the others. He was really starting to feel like a parent in a grocery store. Once they had caught up, Robin was already bypassing another locked door. The door opened before Aqualad could reprimand him and the sight before them left them all speechless. Countless rows of blue tubes containing frozen creatures lined the room as electric currents radiated off their glass cases. The team walked in star-struck as they slowly came to terms with what they were going up against.

"This is how they remained unnoticed. They're generating their own electricity; they're completely off the map!" Kid reported, staring around in wonder. Aqualad grimaced while Robin located a computer and began hijacking it.

"The creatures are called genomorphs Woah! Look at the stats on these things! Super strength, telepathy, razor claws these are living weapons!" Robin exclaimed as he reviewed the data.

"They're building their own army," Kid Flash realized as he gathered around the computer with the rest.

"But for who?" Green Lantern questioned, crossing her arms and frowning in disapproval. This was really bad. They already had a squadron of giant trolls, what else did they have to unleash on the world?

"Wait! There's something else!" Robin interrupted, typing fervidly on the little screen. "Project Kr Ugh! The file's triple encrypted. I can't Agh!"

Robin flew back as a bullet hit him in the back. The group widened their eyes as they whipped around to meet their assaulter. A dark looking fellow in all black stood at the entrance carrying two guns in either hand and looking extremely unapologetic for shooting their friend in the back.

Realizing what happened, Kid Flash ran towards his friend in a panic, "Robin!"

He checked him over for wounds worriedly, but the younger seemed to be fine. Robin grunted and got up with the help of his friend, "Agh good thing Batman invented bulletproof capes."

Robin's teammates sighed in relief and turned on their assailant angrily, only to find him missing. The group immediately formed in a circle, back to back as they searched the room from all sides. Green Lantern immediately threw up a barrier to protect them as they waited for their enemy to reveal himself. From the door, a man in a blue and gold costume along with an army of mutants ran inside, spotting the team instantly.

"Don't move!" he ordered as he sent the creatures to surround them. The group turned all their attention to him, readying their defenses and glaring.

"Guardian," Aqualad said in surprise, relaxing and wondering what a hero was doing with weaponized monsters. One of the creatures perched on his shoulder and narrowed it's eyes at them. It began to glow as Guardian's glare intensified.

"Take them down," he ordered, sending out his small army of genomorphs. Robin immediately jumped in and threw down a smoke pellet, enshrouding the room in a thick mist.

"I can't see!" Glitch exclaimed, looking around wildly as her hands glowed with energy. One of the genomorphs tackled her from behind, taking her down easily while the others also struggled to fend themselves in limited visibility.

Green Lantern flew up high, beating the fog and spying Robin ducking out of the room without them before she was piled on by the nimble creatures. She grunted against them, forming a giant hand with her ring to pry them off of her. She picked the creatures off her and threw them down as movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She turned, spotting Yosemite Sam peeking out behind a pillar and firing into the smoke.

Her eyes widened angrily as she formed a giant fist with her ring and moved to stop him. Her target looked up just as the fist slammed over him. He ducked out from beneath it and rolled back behind the pillar. He appeared on the other side and began firing mercilessly, forcing Green Lantern back down into the cover of the mist. He frowned and went back to firing blindly, figuring he'd hit one of them or at least draw them out.

"Get down!" Aqualad yelled, hearing the rain of bullets. He threw one of the genomorphs off his back and crouched down low, surveying the room and hoping to see one of his teammates and confirm their condition, but he couldn't see past the smoke.

Fortunately for him, Guardian had also registered the hail fire and yelled for his partner to halt, "Stop! You'll hit the genomorphs!"

He was met with silence as the other seemed to cooperate and stopped. Aqualad sighed in relief and picked himself up, intent on assembling his scattered team as quickly as possible. He had no problem finding Kid Flash who was struggling to fend off the genomorphs that swarmed him. Aqualad withdrew his water-bearers and used the water to knock the beasts away, electrifying them in the process.

"Find the others," Aqualad ordered, staying back to fight the genomorphs that returned for more. Kid Flash nodded and ran off, coming back with a disoriented Glitch on his back a second later.

"Found one," he said, setting her down carefully as the three regrouped. One of the experiments growled behind them, running out from the mist to attack when a green jack in the box with a boxing glove knocked it out of the way.

"Robin already bailed. Let's go," Lantern reported, flying down beside them. Aqualad nodded and told them to run, leading the way as they went. They burst through the fog and were immediately met with another enemy. The teen from before made a punch at Aqualad, pulling out a long dagger with the other. Aqualad groaned and reeled back as Kid Flash took over and got a few punches of his own in before the other got the upper hand and blocked his fist, kneeing him in the gut and flipping them around, throwing the red head to the side. Kid Flash shouted in alarm as the boy turned towards the girls. Glitch's eyes widened as she put her hand out and sucked him into a portal, disposing of him back in the fog.

"Come on!" She urged, steadying Aqualad as Green Lantern formed a Lamborghini around KF and hustled him out of there.

"Honestly speaking," KF said, holding his head and sitting up. He opened the car door and dashed out, running alongside Green Lantern. "Kind of insulting."

With that, he ran ahead of everyone else, down the hallway Robin had gone. He quickly spied the boy wonder wrestling with more codes at the end of the hall. He ran beside him, stopping recklessly as he turned on the younger angrily, "Way to leave us in the dust, Rob!"

"Weren't you right behind me?" Robin asked innocently as he worked on hacking through the door. The others appeared down the hall then and started running towards them, mutants, hero, and villain in tow. Glitch stayed back as she let the other two run ahead. She turned and opened a portal across the entirety of the hall, cutting off their attackers.

The creatures and Guardian fumbled, skidding themselves to a stop in any way they could, but the other, tall, dark, and handsome, continued forward. He pulled out his guns and shot into the abyss, crossing his arms and jumping through a moment later. He stumbled out, looking around, quickly recognizing he was in the same room from before. He turned back around, spying a second portal floating in the center. He approached it studiously, tracing a finger along the edge as he pondered it's mechanics. He poked his head through the dark and was met with a different scene. He smirked at the creatures and Guardian who stood on the other side as he figured out the logistics of the portal. He retracted his head back into the other room and smirked smugly. He sauntered to the backside of the same portal and ran through.

Glitch yelped as the boy appeared before her, smiling victoriously as his plan had worked. She held up her hands instinctively as he slashed at her with his dagger. Immediately, a portal flew up in front of her, protecting her from harm, but at the same time, breaking her concentration and causing the other portal behind them to fall, revealing the army of genetically altered creatures. The others turned in alarm, registering the danger as they came to Glitch's aid.

"Duck!" Lantern yelled, facing her ring to them and forming a massive net and throwing it down the hall. Glitch's eyes widened as she wrapped her energy around her and melted through the floor. Taking note of the trap, her opponent followed after, sliding through the portal just before it dispersed into thin air.

Another portal materialized on the wall and Glitch stepped out calmly, thinking she was safe.

"Move!" Aqualad shouted, running towards her as her pursuer once again found his way to safety. Aqualad came to her rescue just in time, pulling her out of the way and punching the villain in the face as he stepped out of the portal.

"Time to go," KF announced, appearing beside them. Beside him, their enemy grunted in irritation, now bound and gagged from when Kid Flash restrained him just a second earlier.

"Go," Aqualad agreed, helping Glitch to the elevator as Robin finally managed to override the doors and let themselves in.

"Let's go, beautiful!" KF said, appearing beside Green Lantern as she took care of the mutants that escaped her web. She turned to him strangely before she was taken up in his arms and carried to the elevator. Once they were all safely inside, Robin programmed the elevator to carry them away. Aqualad sighed in relief at being free of the danger before noticing that the floor levels were decreasing. He turned to Robin unsurely, "We're going down?"

"Dude! Out is up!" KF pointed upwards, wondering what his friend was thinking.

"Excuse me? Project Kr is down. On sublevel fifty-two," Robin defended, apparently having made the decision to pursue Kr by himself.

Aqualad grimaced, rubbing his neck as he thought about the beating they had gotten up there. "This is out of control. Perhaps we should contact the League."

"I second that idea," Glitch replied, folding her cloak over her and fixing her hair as they descended lower into the lair.

"No!" Lantern and Flash replied simultaneously. They looked at each other and then turned back to Aqualad.

"We can do this," Kid Flash protested determinedly as the elevator came to a stop at floor fifty-two.

"Besides, we're already here," Green Lantern countered, stepping out of the elevator with Robin before the Atlantian could protest. Kid smiled sheepishly and followed after them as Aqualad groaned, having no choice but to follow.

"Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I can teleport us out faster than Kid Flash can run his mouth," Glitch comforted, running beside him. Aqualad sighed in relief and smiled at the joke, feeling reassured.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," he said, catching up with the others as they waited between two passage ways.

"Which way?" Aqualad asked, peering down both directions and looking for a lead.

"Yeah, bizarre looking hallway one or bizarre looking hallway two?" Robin replied, gesturing to each.

"Let's go with two," Lantern answered, flying up and heading down the second path when the more advanced genomorph appeared in front of her.

"Halt!"

She squeaked in surprise and turned back, "Not two!"

She led them down the other path as the genomorph threw whatever he could after them. Kid Flash ran ahead of them as usual, following the path until it led him to a big, impenetrable door that, fortunately, was in the process of closing. He sped through, tumbling in on the other side of the frame as the other four rounded the corner. Seeing that the door was closing, Green Lantern quickly manufactured a stopper to hold the door open long enough for everyone to dive through.

Once they had all made it safely on the other side, she removed the stopper and the door slammed closed. Robin swiftly went to the computer and disengaged the door so no one could follow them inside.

"Woah, guys," Kid Flash called as he looked around the room and walked up to another computer system located in the middle. The others gathered around him as he brightened the lights, revealing a boy dressed all in white encased in a glass tube. Their eyes widened as they recognized the symbol on his chest.

"No way," Robin breathed, speechless over their discovery.

"Big K, little r the atomic symbol for Krypton," Kid Flash exclaimed, approaching the encasing.

"Robin, hack," Aqualad ordered, receiving no complaint from the younger.

"No problem," Robin said, plugging in his own system and breaking down the firewalls as the rest went about studying their new discovery.

"Weapon designation Superboy," Robin read aloud, searching through the files. "A clone force grown in sixteen weeks?! From DNA acquired from Superman."

"Stolen from Superman," Aqualad amended as the group gathered round again.

"The solar suit allows him to absorb yellow sun radiation 24/7," Robin continued, bringing up a picture on the screen.

"What about those?" Lantern pointed to the gremlins overseeing the clone.

"Genomorph gnomes," Robin answered, bringing up a file on the creatures. "Telepathic. Force feeding him an education."

"And we can guess what that means," KF said ominously.

"We need to get him out of there. If he still has any brain of his own, we have to help him," Lantern spoke up, tense that the other wouldn't agree.

"I agree," Aqualad said, easing her nerves, "But first let's contact the League."

He pressed a button on his belt, but failed to receive a signal. The others tried with their own transmission, but were met with the same response. Robin frowned, "No signal."

"We're in too deep," Kid Flash added, meaning it both literally and figuratively. Aqualad turned to Glitch, receiving an understanding nod in response.

"Go," he said, "Call the League and get help. Stay above ground until they come."

Glitch looked at him oddly, scanning his eyes for a reason for the unpredicted request. She was met with a steady gaze, making her relent. She said nothing as her energy grabbed her from below and transported her to safety, leaving her teammates behind.

Aqualad turned back to the rest of the team, "Now to save our new friend."

Robin nodded and keyed in the release code. Meanwhile, the genomorphs from within the pod opened their eyes and started to glow, unnoticed by the young heroes. The frame covering Superboy opened, giving way to a soft mist. Superboy opened his eyes weakly, surveying the room before resting them on the heroes.

His countenance quickly changed as he threw himself at Aqualad, tackling him into the ground yards away. He slammed the Atlantian down and beat his fists into the other's face until he was restrained by the other three.

"Stop!" Green Lantern cried, holding on to him with the energy from her ring while Robin and Kid Flash restrained him physically.

"Hang on, Suppy," Kid Flash cautioned, struggling to hold the other back. Superboy wrinkled his nose in anger and slipped his arm free of KF's grasp, swatting him aside. Kid Flash groaned at having the air knocked out of him as he tumbled through some glass and against the wall, falling to the ground unconscious.

"Ugh! I don't want to do this!" Robin grunted, throwing another smoke pellet in Superboy's face to stun him before the other could throw him off too . Superboy retracted and held his throat, coughing through the smoke as Aqualad recovered himself and sent a kick into Superboy's chest, sending him flying back. Green Lantern flew out of range and threw up a cage, separating Superboy from the rest of them.

Superboy got up angrily and pounded against the barrier of energy. Lantern grimaced as she struggled to hold her structure against his blows. Superboy roared testily and punched the barrier with all his might, breaking free and slamming Green Lantern into the wall from the force alone. She felt the air leave her body as her vision faded and she slumped against the ground.

"Don't make me do this," Robin warned, pulling out a taser and aiming it at Superboy. Two bolts of electricity embedded themselves into the super clone, serving only to fuel his anger. Robin's eyes widened as Superboy withstood the shock and grabbed the conducting cords, reigning the smaller boy in and throwing him into the ground. Superboy stomped his foot down on the younger's chest and pressed down hard, suffocating the boy.

Robin grimaced and struggled to throw the stronger off of him. Fortunately, Aqualad came to his aid and hit Superboy to the side with a powerful blow from a water-constructed hammer. He bent down and attempted to help Robin to his feet, but the boy was out of commission.

He stood up as he heard Superboy approaching him again. He held out a hand and spoke firmly, hoping to get his words across, "We are trying to help you."

Superboy narrowed his eyes and lunged for the Atlantian again. He missed and his punch fell to the ground as Aqualad dodged nimbly and took Superboy's slip up to his advantage, tackling him into a nearby wall and returning the punches he had received earlier.

Superboy growled and held out a hand, catching the other's fist and kicking him in the gut, sending him back aways. Aqualad grunted, but recovered himself in time to dodge another punch to the chest. He quickly retaliated before defending against another punch. Seeing his opening, Aqualad pressed his knuckles into the side of Superboy's ribs and quickly restrained the boy in a headlock as he became stunned. He held him tightly and sent waves of electricity into the other's body. Superboy screamed and bore through the pain, hunching over and picking Aqualad up onto is back before jumping into the ceiling and slamming his opponent against it. Aqualad grunted again, feeling his head spin from the impact. He kept his hold on the boy, but by the second time he crashed into the top, he lost consciousness and fell off, falling against the floor roughly.

Superboy heaved angrily before going to the door and ripping it off his hinges. He calmed down as he approached Doctor Desmond. The head scientist smiled evilly and walked past his experiment and into the room, inspecting the unconscious bodies with questionable glee. He turned back to Superboy and smirked coyly, "Adda boy."

Superboy ignored the compliment and stared straight ahead, determined to meet his new orders when they came. He was nothing but the slave they had engineered.

* * *

_Time is running short. You must awaken. You must awaken now!_

The four heroes gasped aloud as they were roused from unconsciousness. They looked around disoriented and moved to look around, quickly figuring out that they had been bound and trapped in experimenting pods. They struggled against their bonds, gaining nothing. They slumped, giving up as they stared out towards the super clone guarding them with piercing eyes.

"What do you want?" Green Lantern narrowed her eyes, extremely bitter over trying to save him, only to have him kick their asses in return. She scowled and glared at him as Kid Flash picked up where she left off.

"Quit staring. It's creeping me out!" He glowered, feeling the same sense of betrayal as Green Lantern.

"Uh, guys," Robin intervened. "Maybe its better not to tick off the guy who can fry us with a glance."

"Tick him off? We saved him and he turned on us! We're the ones who should be angry!" Lantern pouted, glaring back at him childishly.

"Green Lantern, Kid, please. I do not believe our friend is in full control of his actions," Aqualad silenced, earning two unsatisfied frowns, but gaining his requested silence.

"What," Superboy began, testing out his ability to talk for the first time. "What if I wasn't?"

"He can talk?" KF blurted, earning a glare from their captor.

"Yes, _he_ can."

Robin and Aqualad glared at the red head, silently telling him to shut up so they could get themselves out of this mess. "What?" the speedster asked innocently, "It's not like I called him an it."

Aqualad turned away from him and focused back on Superboy. "The genomorphs. They taught you."

"They taught me much," Superboy nodded, "I can read, write, I know the names of things…"

"But have you seen them?" Robin asked, sensing his discomfort with being force fed everything he knew and deciding to act on it. A part of him felt bad for the guy.

"A sunset, a parade, a smile?" Green Lantern added, looking at him sympathetically as she lost all her enmity towards the clone, feeling only pity.

"Images are implanted in my mind, but," He looked down, frowning, "No, I've never seen them."

"Do you know what you are?" Aqualad asked as he took in this new revelation. If he made it out of here alive, the information would be valuable for evaluating Superboy's character.

"I am the Superboy," he said confidently, standing tall. It seemed the genomorphs made sure he knew fully well what he was created for. "A genomorph. A clone made from the DNA of the Superman, created to replace him should he perish, to destroy him should he turn from the light."

The other's eyes widened as Aqualad continued, remaining calm despite the statement. "To be like Superman is a worthy aspiration, but like Superman, you deserve a life of your own. Beyond that solar suit, beyond your pod, beyond Cadmus."

While Superboy was beginning to falter, Aqualad messed up. Upon hearing his organization, Superboy immediately became defensive. Apparently, the genomorphs also made sure that he was loyal to his creators. "I live because of Cadmus! It is my home!"

"You're home is a test tube," Robin said, bursting his bubble unapologetically. "We can show you the world, sunsets, parades "

"Pretty sure its after dark, but we can get that smile covered now," Kid Flash interrupted, flashing him a charming grin.

Aqualad continued as Green Lantern joined her partner and smiled at Superboy encouragingly. "We can introduce you to Superman."

Superboy perked up at that. He tore his gaze away from the smiles he received and looked to Aqualad curiously, taking it into deep consideration. He wanted to meet Superman, more than anything.

"No, they can't," Doctor Desmond said disdainfully as he came in with another scientist, Guardian, and their newly acquainted enemy. He crossed his arms and glared at the heroes. "They'll be otherwise occupied. Activate the cloning process."

"Pass! Batcave's crowded enough," Robin glowered, fishing a piece of metal from his glove to pick the lock.

Desmond sneered and looked away, turning on Guardian angrily. "Get the weapon back in its cage!"

"Hey, how come he gets to call Suppy an it," Kid Flash pouted, noticing how Desmond didn't receive any glares from the statement. However, realizing what Kid had said, Superboy glared icily at Desmond and Guardian, and brushed off the hero's hand from his shoulder when he moved to escort him.

"Oh, don't start thinking now," Desmond said in disgust as his genomorph hopped from his shoulder onto Superboy's. It glowed and deterred Superboy's line of thought. His eyes widened obediently as he stood up straight and left the room.

Desmond glowered after him and turned to his assistant. She nodded, indicating that the cloning process was ready. He nodded for her to start and soon, two intimidating needles appeared on either side of the heroes. Green Lantern squeaked in alarm before the needles even touched her. The heroes struggled against their bonds again, trying to break free before the needles injected them, but it was no use. They screamed painfully as the needles mercilessly extracted their DNA, doing a lot more damage than was probably necessary.

"I'll be leaving," the gun slinger announced, turning away from the sadistic scene. Desmond waved him off, not really caring now that the threat was over. The other nodded and departed, leaving the heroes to what he was sure was a certain death.

Aqualad grimaced and bit back his moans of pain, speaking quietly, but knowing he would be heard by those with super hearing. "Superboy, you live. That gives you the right to follow your own path: a weapon or a person? The choice is yours, but ask yourself: what would Superman do?"

He tried to continue, but the pain became too much. He let out a pained snarl as he struggled to keep himself together, joining the others in their cries. They lasted a few seconds longer before the door to the lab was torn off and Superboy walked in seriously.

The needles stopped and retracted back into the pods as the two scientists became distracted by their creation's entrance. Desmond growled and turned on him, thinking he still had control over the situation. "I told you to get back in your "

His command was cut short as Superboy threw him to the side along with anyone else who tried to stop him. "Don't give me orders."

He turned back to the captured heroes and glared, approaching them stiffly.

"You here to help us or fry us?" KF asked, unable to read the clone's intentions on account that it seemed he had a permanent scowl on his face. As he waited for an answer, Robin finally managed to free himself and fell to the floor with a grunt, rubbing his wrists sorely.

"Ugh! Finally! Lucky thing Batman isn't here; he'd have my head for taking so long."

"Seriously?" KF asked, sneering at him. "The whole League will have our heads after tonight!"

Green Lantern groaned, "Not looking forward to that."

Robin frowned and turned to Superboy, "You get Aqualad. I'll get Kid Mouth and Green Sass."

Superboy glared, "Don't you give me orders either."

He turned away from Robin and jumped beside Aqualad, breaking him free while Robin went to the computer and deactivated the other two's pods.

"Thank you," Aqualad said as they recovered themselves and ran out. Desmond called after them, threatening that they would never make it out alive.

"Do you really expect us to just stop?" Green Lantern asked as she flew by, never understanding the points of those threats. Was she just supposed to believe him and give up?

"So not happening," Robin added, turning around and throwing four birdarangs back at their pods, blowing them up and destroying any of their DNA left behind.

Desmond got up angrily, glaring after them as his genomorph hopped back on his shoulder. "Activate every genomorph in Cadmus."

* * *

"We are still forty-two levels below ground," Aqualad reported as he caught sight of the number on the side of a wall. They were running straight towards the elevator, hoping for a quick escape when giant trolls and other mutants blocked their path, surrounding them.

The heroes readied themselves and made their way through the trolls nimbly, dodging to the sides and avoiding contact. Meanwhile, Superboy didn't get the memo and stayed behind and fought his way out, taking down the giants with ease.

"Superboy!" Aqualad called as he and the rest waited safely out of range. "The goal is escape."

"You want escape?!" He roared angrily, picking up one of the trolls and throwing it onto two others, clearing a path. He ran towards them as Aqualad turned around and ripped open the elevator doors. Robin stepped forward and pulled out his grappling hook, carrying himself up as Green Lantern made a platform for her and KF. Superboy ran in with them, grabbing Aqualad and jumping through as more genomorphs swarmed behind them.

The two made it a few dozen floors up before their velocity reached zero and they began to fall. Superboy's eyes widened, stunned by his descent. He met Aqualad's eyes, reflecting the same nervous concern as his own. Robin noticed as the two began to fall and shot a make-shift handle just below for one of them to catch. Aqualad grasped it and swung roughly, hanging on to Superboy as they dangled above nothingness.

"I can't fly," the other said in disbelief as Aqualad swung them to a ledge and the others regrouped.

"Guys!" Lantern shouted, pointing up as she noticed the elevator coming down fast. "We have to get out of here!"

Superboy nodded and slammed the elevator doors open, grunting with the exertion. The heroes quickly dashed into the safety of the hall as the elevator flew past them. Green Lantern peered back down as the elevator stopped further down. "That's probably Desmond. They're coming up."

"Let's go," Robin interrupted her realization, pulling on her as more genomorphs chased after them from down the hall. Her eyes widened and she quickly got to her feet. She held Robin close, picking him up and carrying him with her as she caught up with the others.

"Go left!" Superboy yelled, turning suddenly. The team followed him unquestioningly, figuring he must know the route since he lived there his whole life.

"Turn right!" He guided, leading them down a dead end. He stopped, surprised by the outcome, his expression clearly showing he had expected something different.

"Great direction, Suppy. You trying to get us re-podded?" Kid Flash asked grouchily as they came to a stop.

"What's the point of this hallway anyway? There's no doors!" Green Lantern complained, looking back and scowling.

"Keep quiet, you two. This is perfect!" Robin interrupted, pointing to the vent.

"You're kidding, right?" KF asked, receiving his answer when Robin shot a hook through the vent and pulled it open. KF turned to Green Lantern to see if she was buying this. She shrugged and formed a platform again, taking everyone up as one by one they crawled through the tiny shaft.

"At this rate, we'll never get out," Kid Flash complained, bumping into the wall for the sixth time already. He scowled at it and shrunk himself as much as he possibly could, finally glad to not be as muscled as Superboy or Aqualad, who seemed to be having a much more difficult time than he.

"Shh," Superboy whispered, wedged between the walls uncomfortably. "Listen."

They stopped, hearing the growls of the leaner genomorphs tracking them down through the vent. KF whined in despair, "This is going to be just like one of those horror movies."

"Working on it," Robin said, taking the comment as a hint for him to hurry. He dialed on his keypad again as Kid Flash imagined something pulling Superboy away and picking them off one by one. They quieted down and waited before the growls traveled down another passage way..

"I hacked the motion sensors," Robin smirked victoriously, leading them further down the vent and finding a suitable exit as a surprised shout echoed down the vent. Robin laughed, imagining what was the cause of that shameful cry and sincerely hoping he was the cause of it.

"Finally!" Kid Flash exclaimed as he hopped back down into the hallway. "Room to move."

"Still plenty of them between us and out," Robin grinned, raining on his parade as the rest came down from the vent.

"No problem," KF grinned, snapping his goggles over his eyes and heading for the door, As soon as he opened it, there was a loud bang. Kid Flash groaned and held his shoulder as unconcealed pain ripped through him.

He grunted, biting down hard as he staggered back to his stunned teammates, revealing a smoking gun in the doorway. The owner stepped out from behind the door and stared at them emotionlessly.

"You!" Aqualad growled angrily, recognizing him and shaking, absolutely livid over what he had done. The boy responded by raising another gun at them and began firing ruthlessly. Green Lantern immediately raised a wall to protect them as Robin knelt beside Kid Flash and tended his wound, wrapping it with a tourniquet.

"Lantern, protect Robin and Kid Flash," Aqualad ordered as he and Superboy prepared to take down their opponent. Green Lantern nodded and lowered her wall. The two boys protected themselves, Aqualad forming his own shield and Superboy charging ahead as Green Lantern strengthened her barrier around herself and the others.

Superboy roared angrily, bullets bouncing off his impenetrable body as he ran at the mercenary. Seeing that his guns were no longer working, the boy switched tactics and replaced one of them with his dagger. He avoided Superboy's attack and dodged to the side, making him give chase. Superboy threw a punch and the other ducked under it, slamming his fist into the clone's gut. Superboy stumbled back as Aqualad let down his defenses and rushed towards him.

The boy switched tactics again and began firing down the line at Aqualad. The hero dodged through the hail nimbly, but each time, receiving some sort of graze from the bullets. He struggled and put his shield up again, worried that his ability to dodge did not meet the required skill needed for this opponent.

Seeing the other go down, the mercenary walked closer, bombarding Aqualad's shield with bullets when, suddenly, he flipped back as Superboy recovered himself and sprang to punch him in the face. He turned on the clone and began firing. Superboy snarled and charged him again. The boy flipped, kicking Superboy in the face and falling to the ground guns a blazing.

Aqualad, who had just retracted his shield, shouted in alarm as the bullets ripped past him, one of them cutting across the cheek. He grimaced as he was forced behind his shield again. "Superboy! I need help!"

Superboy bellowed and punched at the other madly, only to be blocked each time. The ebony dressed teen dodged another punch, pushing it to the side by using Superboy's momentum and creating an opening to knee him in the back. He caught his footing as Superboy stumbled forward and turned again, this time elbowing the other square in the chest. Superboy grimaced and clutched his chest as the merc opened the door of the stairwell again, using it to block another attack from Aqualad. Aqualad punched, creating a brutal dent in the metal door. He let it swing shut as Aqualad retracted his arm and attacked him again. The boy swooped below the attack and pulled out his gun, setting it below Aqualad's chin.

"No!" Green Lantern shouted, tearing down her wall and forming a whip, snapping it across the villain's hand and pulling it back as he shot into the air. Their opponent whipped around, turning his gun towards her, but Superboy intervened. He got behind the teen and restrained him as the other struggled against him to no avail.

"Hold him down," Aqualad said darkly, recollecting himself from his near-death experience and reaching around the larger, electrocuting his would-be-killer to the point of paralyzation.

Superboy let go of him before the electricity could travel into his body and let the other fall to the floor in distress. They glared down at him and turned to their teammates, "Are you ready to go?"

"It was just a graze," Robin reported, nodding as he helped KF up, the latter grunting and grimacing with the effort. "But it cut deep."

"I'm good," Kid Flash defended, holding his arm and approaching the door.

"Not a chance, kid," Green Lantern stated, purposely misusing his nickname. She wrapped her energy around him and picked him up as she molded it into a platform. Kid pouted as he sat down stubbornly, crossing his arms and looking to the side as everyone else stepped aboard.

"Get us as far as you can," Aqualad requested as she carried them into the stairwell and started flying up. Growls echoed above them as more genomorphs came down from the upper levels.

"Get ready," Aqualad cautioned as he prepared to fight them off. The others readied themselves as well as Green Lantern willed herself to fly faster. They beat off the mutants easily, knocking them to the side as they launched themselves at them. It wasn't long before they reached the top and boarded off the platform. They turned into the hall as Superboy bent the door out of shape behind them, making sure none of the creatures would be able to follow them. Robin and Aqualad ran ahead as Lantern and Superboy helped Kid at a slower pace.

"Ugh, I hate going slow," KF complained, trying to move faster without moving his arm too much.

"Superboy!" Aqualad called from down the hall, drawing their attention. Green Lantern and him shared a worried look as he made sure she was okay with Kid Flash before leaving and running ahead.

"Come on," she encouraged as she followed the boys down a corner. It was then that she saw why Superboy had been called on. A large, indestructible door had rose between them and freedom. Both Aqualad and Superboy were beating at the door and attempting to pry it open as Robin stood to the side, typing away with a disgruntled look.

"We're locked out," Kid Flash frowned, feeling much more down now that he couldn't help.

"Not for long," Green Lantern denied, observing the door for weak spots. Before any of them could do anything though, more growls came from down the hall and Kid and GL turned back to see a number of trolls pursuing them.

"Gotta go," Lantern said, ushering Kid along guiltily as he struggled to keep up.

"Come on," she yelled to the others as she found another door and used her ring to open it. They turned inside immediately as the trolls tried to grab them from behind. They ran down the hallway only to meet Guardian and even more trolls along with every other genomorph in Cadmus. The team looked for another exit, but found themselves surrounded. They gathered tightly and prepared to fight for their lives.

The smallest of the genomorphs glowed an ominous red and suddenly, four-fifths of the team fell to the ground unconscious.

When they came to a few moments later, the advanced genomorph stood before them, staring at Superboy somberly.

"I choose freedom," Superboy said, staring back at him determinedly. The others moaned in confusion, still too dazed to understand what was going on. They got up dizzily and held their heads, wondering what just happened.

"Feels like fog lifting," Guardian said weakly, putting a hand to his own temple like the rest.

"Guardian?" Aqualad asked, wary of the superhero's intentions. Now that he knew what the genomorphs could do, he was very certain that Guardian had no control over himself when he attacked them, but he needed to be sure.

Guardian nodded, remembering his time lost to the genomorphs. "Go. I'll deal with Desmond."

"I think not," said scientist replied, appearing behind the genomorph trolls as they moved out of his way. He stood there angrily, glowering at them as he gripped a glowing blue vile intimidatingly. "Project Blockbuster will give me the power to restore order to Cadmus."

"Oh, he's got that crazy look in his eye," Lantern said nervously, pulling her lips back uncomfortably and cringing as Desmond tossed the vile back and drank its contents.

"Tell me when its over," she whined, covering her eyes as the scientists clenched his fists and shook violently. His muscles tensed as he heaved his chest upwards, sounding strangled as his muscles grew, tearing through his skin. The flesh beneath turned blue as veins popped through and his skin tore to shreds. He stood as the horrible process was over, shrieking fiercely in his new form, now an unfortunate brute more terrifying than the worst of any genomorph.

"Everyone, back," Guardian called, putting his hands out to protect them. Making sure they were a safe distance away he ran at Desmond determinedly. Desmond snarled and swatted him to the side, percolating with unrestrained power. Guardian fell to the side, down for the count.

Superboy grit his teeth and jumped forward, landing a hit on the brute and raising his fist for another, but Desmond beat him to it, punching the younger across the face. Superboy fought against the momentum of the attack, forcing himself to remain standing and probably hurting himself in the process. But he didn't care. He jumped back in and punched Desmond in the face repeatedly before Desmond leaned back and threw his fist against Superboy, pounding him into the ground. Superboy skidded across the floor painfully before he managed to pick himself up. He ignored his injuries and jumped up high, throwing his fists together in attack. Desmond growled and launched himself into the air, tackling Superboy mid-fall and pushing him through the ceiling of the floor.

"Superboy!" Green Lantern called after him in alarm as she and the team looked through the improvised skylight.

"Okay, that's one way to bust through the ceiling," Robin commented, a little bit stunned. He doubted he'd ever be able to get used to the destruction caused by superpowered brawls. He shrugged it off and took out his grappling hook, propelling himself upstairs.

"Let's go," Kid Flash said, eager to get this fight over and done with in his condition. He held onto his arm as GL made another platform and took him and Aqualad above ground.

When they came through, Desmond and Superboy were still going at it. Desmond held Superboy up tightly, moving to crush him when Superboy summoned all his strength and broke free, throwing the other's arms off his body. Desmond sneered and grabbed his leg while he was still in the air, turning around and throwing him at the heroes.

Lantern widened her eyes as she used her ring to make a large baseball glove and caught Superboy as easily as she would a baseball. She set him down beside them gently, causing Desmond to growl and roar savagely.

"Behind you," A voice said as a dark figure appeared in the background. The darkness melted away to reveal Glitch, glaring at him darkly as she opened a portal over the beast and a very large slab of concrete fell on top of him.

Desmond pushed it off of him and lunged at Glitch. She sunk into the portal keeping her afloat and reappeared beside KF, holding on to him as she took in his wound, "What happened down there?!"

"No time to talk," Robin answered, running forward to meet Desmond and give the others more time to get ready.

Glitch turned to Aqualad for an answer, furrowing her brow in regret as she observed the many cuts on his body from his fight from before. Noticing her discomfort, Aqualad shook his head, speaking to her firmly, "Don't worry about that now. We need to take down Desmond."

Glitch held her tongue and nodded, moving away and forming her energy around her fists. She watched as Robin relied on long range attacks to avoid getting close with Desmond. She threw up her hand and summoned a portal as Robin threw a few birdarangs behind him as he ran away from the rampant monster. She sucked the weapons through her void and created another portal behind Desmond, hitting him in the back successfully.

He stopped in bewilderment before realizing Glitch's part and running after. She melted through the floor, taking Kid with her as Aqualad, Superboy, and Green Lantern prepared to take him on. Lantern formed a lasso and hooked it around Desmond, pulling him off his feet and twirling him around in a circle while Aqualad and Superboy stood back and planted their feet to the ground, rearing back their fists as Desmond came round. They smashed their fists into Desmond's face, pushing him back through the lasso and sending him back a few meters as a twin pair of smiles spread across their faces.

While that was happening, KF and Glitch appeared beside Robin for a strategy. Kid Flash scowled as he stared after the others, watching as GL constructed a boot and kicked Desmond while he was down.

"There's no way I'm staying out of this," KF declared, strapping on his goggles and running into the fight before either could stop him. He ran at the recovering Desmond and somersaulted, kicking Desmond twice before crouching down and running low before Desmond could retaliate.

Desmond fumed and swatted an arm, hitting Aqualad as he attempted to get another shot in. Desmond went towards one of the pillars supporting the room and ripped it from where it stood, using it as a bat, hitting Aqualad and KF in the process as they came back around for round two.

Glitch summoned a portal, catching the two before they made contact with the wall and teleported them safely to the sidelines, though both were hurt much more than they were before. Superboy stepped in then, but was immediately grabbed and thrown into another pillar. Desmond drew his arm back a second time, but Superboy was saved by another portal opening up behind him.

GL moved in with Robin as she threw a bolas at Desmond's feet while Robin leaped in to hit him with an ammunition disc full of freezing gas. Desmond knocked the disc to the side, freezing his arm in the process, but grabbing Robin with the other. He held the youngest before him, squeezing harder and harder as Robin cried out in pain.

Kid Flash immediately came to his rescue despite his injuries, taking a swipe at Desmond and splitting as Superboy stormed in and ripped Desmond's hand off of Robin. He recovered Robin and the two were immediately taken out of the battle by another portal.

Glitch replaced them as she and Lantern paired up. Lantern formed a machine gun and began firing off to the side, shooting into the center of one portal while Glitch created multiple portals around Desmond and unleashed a torrent on Desmond. The giant ducked in response, taking cover against the hail of bullets before running blindly forward, attempting to flee the barrage. He ran directly into a portal and ended up straight ahead of Green Lantern, still charging forward aimlessly. GL yelped as she was run down and thrown back by the brute. Desmond stopped and roared as he realized he was free from the offense. He once again went after Glitch who attempted to escape once again, but Desmond reached down into her portal after her and grabbed her before she could make it through. She gasped as she was pulled out, still enshrouded in the dark energy. Desmond stood up and slammed her into another pillar, breaking it considerably. Glitch groaned in pain, her vision blurring as the entire building shook with the impact.

Robin looked up as he came up with a plan and called Superboy and KF to him to tell them his plan while Aqualad ran to the girl's rescue. He immediately engaged Desmond as GL ran towards Glitch and helped her up.

"Talk to Robin," KF said, appearing next to them in the next moment as Superboy tore apart the pillar next to them. Saying nothing else, he ran to help Aqualad, throwing a punch at the villain and snatching a stray film of skin off Desmond's face. "Haha, got your nose!"

Desmond growled and went after Flash as the speedster made sure not to get himself into further trouble. Seeing the monster distracted, GL and Glitch ran towards Robin who pulled up a three dimensional diagram of the building structure from his holographic computer, "I need you two to set up a trap for Desmond. Glitch, when I give the signal, you teleport him to the center where Aqualad will be waiting with a trap. Green Lantern, I need you and Superboy to knock out these pillars. Got it?"

They nodded and went to work. Green Lantern met up with Superboy and helped him to destroy the specified pillars while Glitch shadowed Robin as he threw time fuses into the remaining pillars and met up with Aqualad to tell him his role. Aqualad nodded and ran to the center, gathering his water and laying it out on the floor.

"We're ready!" GL called, waving over to them with Superboy. Robin turned to Glitch and nodded. She faced Desmond and raised her hand, creating a portal between him and KF. Desmond ran straight in, unable to stop himself as Glitch closed the portal around him and opened another above the middle of the room. Desmond crashed down roughly as KF ran to the safety of Green Lantern and Superboy's side.

Aqualad bent down and sent a wave of electricity through the water, electrifying Desmond. The hulking brute recoiled, laying down frozenly as Robin yelled for them to take cover and activated the bombs he had placed earlier.

With a great shudder, the whole building began to collapse. Desmond's eyes widened as a large slab of crushing weight fell on top of him. Meanwhile, the others took their own cover. Superboy gathered Green Lantern and Kid Flash close, covering them with his body as GL made a shield with her ring. Aqualad faired fine against the debris, his body being much more durable than an average human's, and Glitch made sure she and Robin were safe as she teleported them above the explosion, floating in the night air as the debris settled.

Superboy grunted as Green Lantern dropped her shield and he caught what debris it had collected, throwing it to the side. Aqualad also broke free of the debris and climbed out to meet them. The team regrouped and stared into the pile, spying an unconscious Desmond trapped between layers of destroyed floors.

"We did it," Aqualad said, smiling and panting heavily.

"Was there ever any doubt?" Robin grinned, turning to KF and giving him a high five. The two recoiled a second later as their injuries caught up with them and anything as simple as a high five brought a rush of pain.

"So, what do you think?" Green Lantern asked, smiling tiredly at Superboy. He tilted his head slightly, staring at her curiously as he wondered what she was talking about.

"It may not be the sun, but the moon's still pretty cool," Kid Flash helped explain as he pointed up. Superboy looked upwards, staring at the moon in wonder as it seemed to reflect all the possibilities before him now that he was free. And if by coincidence or fate, a hallmark figure flew into his line of vision, bearing the same symbol on his chest as the boy below.

"Uh oh," Glitch paled as the other League members came into view, bearing disapproving frowns. She melted into the ground and teleported herself between the group, hiding away from her superiors as they gathered around the teens.

Superboy stepped forward, staring at Superman attentively as he revealed the symbol on his chest. Superman's eyes widened in surprise, too stunned to even speak. Superboy attempted to smile, understanding that that was a way to ease someone's nerves, however, Superman's gaze only hardened and he frowned, making the newly released clone falter. Batman narrowed his eyes and approached the group, standing beside his partner, "Is that what I think it is?"

"He doesn't like being called an it," Kid Flash whispered, learning that lesson the hard way.

"I'm Superboy," said boy announced roughly, upset over his mentor's gruff response. "I'm Superman's clone."

Batman narrowed his eyes, conveying a demanding presence as he took over the scene. "Start talking."

One by one they all took their turns adding to the story until all the pieces were put together. Batman gestured to a few Leaguers and they moved to capture Desmond and take him away while the more prominent League members stayed behind.

"Cadmus will be investigated," Batman declared as he approached the newly-formed team with their mentors, save for Superman, who flew off after speaking with Superboy briefly. "All fifty-two levels, but let's make one thing clear."

"You should've called," Flash frowned, almost slightly pouting in disappointment oh his protégé's incompetence.

"Emma," the other Green Lantern warned paternally, crossing his arms convictingly.

Emma laughed weakly, "Heh, hey Uncle Jordan."

The older Green Lantern smiled, breaking his reprehending attitude, "Glad to see ya kid."

Emma looked down sheepishly, embarrassed at being the only one with a mentor who didn't care that she broke the rules. Then again, this was Hal Jordan she was talking about. She was sure if her Uncle Stewart had stuck around, she'd be getting an earful right now.

"Glitch," Canary chimed in, "I didn't expect such behavior from you. I'm surprised."

Glitch blushed and looked down. She had changed opinions somewhere along the line of working with her team. They had proven their point to her. They all had much more potential than the Justice League was allowing them and setting them up as sidekicks was an insult to the skills they each possessed. However, she felt bad as she adored Black Canary more than anything and couldn't bear to disappoint her. She shuffled her feet, saying nothing as she kicked at the ground and pressed her lips together.

"End results aside, we are not happy." Batman restated, making sure none of them got the wrong idea. "You hacked Justice League systems, disobeyed direct orders, and endangered lives. You will not be doing this again."

"I am sorry, but we will," Aqualad stood up in place of everyone, voicing their thoughts aloud as they all gathered behind him to rally their support.

"Aqualad, stand down," Aquaman ordered, pondering over how much his prized student changed.

"Apologies, my king, but no." He bowed, placing his hand over his chest in respect, earning a raised brow from his mentor. He continued, "We did good work here tonight. The work you trained us to do. Together, on our own, we forged something powerful, important."

"If this is about, your treatment at the hall, the four of you " Flash began only to be interrupted by his younger copy.

"The six of us," Kid corrected, adding on, "And, its not."

"Batman, we're ready to use what you taught us, or why teach us at all?" Robin persuaded, stepping a little bit closer.

Superboy crossed his arms and stepped forward in aggravation, either sore over his treatment with Superman or upset over how his friend's pleas were not being heard. "Why let them tell us what to do? Its simple: either get on board or get out of the way."

The rest of the team went silent as Superboy summed up their feelings. They didn't have anything else to say. They didn't have to convince their mentors; they were doing this one way or another.

* * *

"You've failed us, Shade," a blurry image on one of many screens said as it talked to the gun slinger the team had encountered back in Cadmus. The boy looked on stoically, unfazed by the criticism of his work.

"We expected more from someone with your background," another added. Still, he didn't speak.

"Are you listening, boy? We've lost Cadmus because you couldn't fend off a few wretched brats."

He blinked, "I understand."

"Enough, brother," another silhouette spoke, this one being much more oddly shaped than the rest, obviously not of this world. "I believe Cadmus was already doomed."

"Yes, but what should we do about the children?" one asked. "I worry they will become a problem to our plans."

"We can use them to our advantage," another screen said confidently. "Eventually, everyone sees the Light."

* * *

"This cave was the original secret sanctuary of the Justice League," Batman introduced as the young heroes gathered around him while other members of the League bustled about, cleaning the place up for the new team. "We're calling it into service again. Since you six are determined to stay together and fight the good fight, you'll do it on League terms. Red Tornado volunteered to live here and be your supervisor. Black Canary's in charge of training. I will deploy you on missions."

"Real missions?" Robin asked hopefully, still feeling a hint of doubt.

"Yes," Batman eased his worries as he stepped in line with the other mentors, "but covert."

"The League will still handle the obvious stuff; there's a reason we have these big targets on our chest," Flash grinned, pointing to his own symbol as he put a hand on KF's shoulder.

"Cadmus proves the bad guys are getting smarter," Aquaman added. "Batman needs a team that can operate on the sly."

"The seven of you will be that team," Batman revealed, adding in an extra number.

"Cool," Robin grinned, having his worries absolved. He faltered a moment later as he registered the addition of another team member, "Wait, seven?"

Batman looked to the end of the room as Martian Manhunter walked in with a female version of himself, the girl having long, red hair and cute, little freckles adorning her face. She approached them shyly as Batman introduced her as Martian Manhunter's niece, Miss Martian.

"Hi," she forced out, waving consciously, but doing her best to give them a big smile.

"Liking this gig more every minute," Kid Flash commented to Robin as he moved in to welcome their newest member. "Welcome aboard, I'm Kid Flash. That's Glitch and Green Lantern. And that's Robin, Aqualad, Superboy its cool if you forget their names."

"I'm honored to be included," Miss M replied sincerely, blushing as she caught sight of Superboy. She tucked her hair behind her ear and looked to the side as she made her shirt turn black. She looked back up at him nervously, attempting to make friends, "I like your T-shirt."

Superboy smiled as Robin nudged him, catching on to what Miss M was putting down. She blushed and looked away again as Green Lantern rolled her eyes, "Ignore them. Just be glad you got some girls on the team."

Miss Martian met their eyes gratefully as she smiled past the hair curtaining her face. Aqualad smiled as he felt the group really settling in and becoming comfortable with one another, "Today is the day."

* * *

**A/N: Hello all. This is the new chapter. I've been working on it for a while and just finished it tonight. It's actually rather late, so I obviously didn't proofread and amend my work too well, but oh well. Please check the updates on the OC forms in the previous chapter. If it hasn't been updated yet, here are the changes:**

**I am fully stocked on heroes. Any more will be saved and considered for future story lines. This means they will either appear much later in the story line or in season two when this story gets there. Currently, I am only accepting two more OCs and those are villains. Let me know if you have any questions. Night**


	3. Welcome to Happy Harbor

"Looks like we're not the only ones who've been getting by on our own," Robin commented as Glitch teleported him, Aqualad, and Kid Flash into a ship yard. They were currently hidden behind some crates as a battle unfolded in the opening before them. It seemed that Speedy had found an illegal smuggling unit and was putting a stop to it. He was currently fighting a hulking, but short man who fired after the hero with a red gun.

"Alright, let's get a plan together," Aqualad declared, gathering the team together only to find the Boy Wonder missing. He sighed as he heard the teen's laugh echoing off shipping containers. His laugh was followed by a few startled shouts as Robin knocked some of the criminal's guns away with a few birdarangs.

Kid Flash turned to Aqualad, shrugging his shoulders before bolting out of their hiding spot and running off, eager to join the fight. He sped past the goons and stole the last of their guns, taking a few of them out as he went.

"Or not," Aqualad commented grudgingly on his previous statement as he ran out of his hiding place. He retrieved his water bearers from his back as his tattoos glowed an electric blue. Two long vines of water formed from each weapon and Aqualad lunged at the remaining villains, taking them down.

Meanwhile, the larger man, Brick, was still focused on Speedy. He tore a large block from the ground and raised it above his head, hurling it at the nimble hero. Speedy ducked under the projectile as it shattered against the shipping container behind him. He kept running, preparing an arrow as he went. He continued running until he saw an opportunity arise. Brick was bending down to collect another weapon when Speedy drew his arrow back and fired, connecting with the man's back.

Brick grunted, but endured the blast that detonated when the arrow made contact with his impenetrable body. He snorted angrily and hurled the second projectile at the archer.

At that moment, Glitch appeared in front of him and summoned a portal before her, swallowing the concrete whole. Speedy ducked around her and fired again, hitting their enemy with a smoke grenade.

Brick coughed against the burning vapor as he became enshrouded in a thick haze. Aqualad took this pause in the fight to jump beside the other two and address Speedy, "The Cave is perfect. It has everything the team will need."

"For covert missions," Robin added, dropping in behind them, "You know, spy stuff."

"And wait til you see Superboy, Green Lantern, and Miss Martian," Kid Flash chimed in as he joined the group. He grinned broadly and moved to the side, "I'm having the most luck with Miss M right now, so you can have the other two."

"Unless you've suddenly realized my charm," Kid deterred, turning to Glitch and wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. Glitch sighed exasperatedly and looked up, praying for the strength to endure another of KF's many flirtations.

Before Speedy could give his reply, Brick recovered from the smoke. Growling angrily, he heaved another mound of concrete at the group while they were distracted. Noticing the projectile, the group scattered. Aqualad stayed behind and cut through the hunk of concrete with a constructed scabbard, while Speedy, who had ducked to the side, drew back two arrows and fired both into the brute's chest.

Brick exclaimed as both arrows stuck to him and exploded independently, bringing him down to his knees. He grunted and laughed at the weakness of the attack, "Tell Arrow he shouldn't send boys to do a man's job."

Speedy drew back another arrow threateningly as Brick stood up and held out his arms, leaving his upper body defenseless. He smirked, remaining an easy target as he taunted the younger on, "Go ahead."

Speedy let loose his arrow and, as expected, the arrow did no damage since the man was immune to being injured. Brick began to laugh at the poor attack, but stopped short as the arrow detonated and a foamy clay smothered him. He struggled against it, but found that it hardened faster the more he struggled. He pushed against it still and cried out angrily as the restraining substance surrounded his body and trapped him in a lumpy mound.

"High density, polyurethane foam," Kid translated as he returned before Speedy. He turned back to the hero and gave him a thumbs up, "Nice."

Speedy ignored the compliment and turned around, heading out without a goodbye. Robin and Aqualad, who had predicted this, we're already waiting for him in the back, still intent on swaying him to their side.

"So Speedy, you in?" Robin asked, leaning against one of the containers coolly.

"Pass," the older said indifferently, stopping and turning to Batman's disciple, "I'm done letting Arrow and the League tell me what to do. I don't need a babysitter or a clubhouse hangout with the other kids. Your junior Justice League is a joke, something to keep you busy, and in your place."

"I don't want any part of it," he finished, walking off into the shadows as the group stared after him in distress. They hadn't thought of their new titles that way. What if Speedy was right?

* * *

"Recognized: Robin, B01. Kid Flash, B03," an automated voice announced, reporting the arrival of said superheroes. Ever since the other night after the events with Speedy, the whole team was more eager than ever to get a mission and prove him wrong.

"Did you ask him?" Robin asked as he and KF ran towards the rest of their group in the center of the room.

"What did he say?" Kid asked eagerly.

"He's arriving now," Aqualad answered, smiling at their enthusiasm as a screen blinked with the approach of their guest.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Kid asked again, nudging Robin in the direction of the entrance to meet their supervisor.

"You'd think he of all people would realize there are faster ways," Green Lantern commented, referring to KF. She crossed her arms and watched as the two raced each other down the hall. Glitch shrugged in response and teleported the remaining four and herself in front of the entrance. Aqualad went to the side and opened up a panel to reveal a key code. He punched in the numbers, prompting the team's ramp of an entrance to descend above them, making room for the arrival of their superior.

The five of them headed out as Kid and Robin made it around the corner. They stopped out of surprise, shocked to be the last ones. KF turned to Robin with a look of disbelief, "Dude, how-"

"Ugh, of course! Glitch can teleport people," Robin pouted, hitting his hand against his temple as he cursed his stupidity. "To think I wasted my time racing with you."

Kid frowned and crossed his arms as he followed Robin out of the cave, unknowingly throwing glares at Glitch's back. The two followed the others out and Kid stopped moping as a strong wind blew down from above and a superpowered robot flew down in the gust of wind.

"Red Tornado," Aqualad greeted, smiling in anticipation, though he tried to hide it. The rest of the team stood by anxiously, awaiting orders. They were all eagerly awaiting a mission from headquarters.

"Greetings," Red Tornado saluted, landing on the ground before them. He swiveled his head towards each young hero, analyzing their expressions. They didn't seem to be troubled, but for everyone to gather around him and meet him outside was questionable. "Is there a reason you intercept me outside of the Cave?"

"We hoped you had a mission for us," Aqualad said honestly, feeling his heart rise in anticipation as he awaited an answer.

"Mission assignments are the Batman's responsibility," Tornado informed emotionally, not detecting the stress his answer caused the newest heroes.

"But it's been over a week," Robin interjected, stepping forward.

"You will be tested soon enough," Red Tornado assured, holding his hand up to halt any more protests. "I imagine the League thought it would be a better idea to withhold missions from you until I was reassigned to the base. You shouldn't have to wait much longer."

"So what do we do until then?" GL asked, crossing her arms. She, like the other more impatient members of the group, didn't like the idea of waiting any longer.

"For the time being, simply enjoy each other's company," Red Tornado suggested.

"This team is not a social club," Aqualad replied, fear seeping into his hopes of joining a working team as he thought back to what Red Arrow had said previously.

"No," Tornado agreed, "but I am told social interaction is an important team building exercise. Perhaps you can keep busy by familiarizing yourself with the cave."

Kid Flash grimaced as Red Tornado echoed Speedy's warning. He tapped Robin on the arm and repeated the phrase as Tornado began to walk away. Robin scowled and turned to the group, "Does he think we're falling for this?"

Miss Martian gasped as the team thought over what Robin had said. Miss M raised her arms to her chest excitedly, ecstatic to prove her worth to the team as she immediately found a solution to Robin's question. "I'll find out."

The team went quiet as Miss M turned towards Tornado's retreating form and focused. Her expression faltered a moment later and she sighed in defeat, "I'm sorry, I forgot. He's a machine, inorganic. I cannot read his mind."

"Nice try though," Kid encouraged, leaning in close. "So, you know what I'm thinking right now?"

"How much you really want to go back to playing your fantasy card game with your babysitter in the basement of your mom's house?" Lantern guessed as she cut through the group with Glitch and started walking back towards the Cave.

"Haha," Kid laughed sarcastically, scowling after her as the group decided to go back in.

"I suppose its time to tour the clubhouse," Aqualad declared reluctantly as yet another piece of Red Arrow's warning fell into place.

"Well Superboy and I live here," Miss Martian began innocently, not catching the hint of bitterness in Aqualad's declaration. "We can play tour guides."

The team turned to the two as Superboy immediately responded with "Don't look at me."

"If only it was that easy," Lantern whispered to Glitch as everyone dropped their gaze away from the boy. Glitch's lips twitched, but refused to show any sign of entertainment. Meanwhile, KF was attempting another go at Miss M, only to be blocked by his best friend.

"Team building," Aqualad interrupted them, "We'll all go."

"So," Miss Martian began, taking up the lead. She gestured towards the entrance of the cave as the group re-entered the base, "this would be our front door…"

"…And this would be our back," She finalized as the group exited through an opening in the middle of the mountain. The group fanned out and took in the unbeatable scenery as Miss M continued on, "The Cave is actually the entire mountain."

"It was hollowed out and reinforced by Superman and Green Lantern in the early days of the League," Kid Flash chimed in, trying to impress Miss M with his knowledge of the subject.

"Then why abandon it for the hall of Justice?" Superboy asked, finding the transition unreasonable.

"The Cave's secret location was compromised," Aqualad answered, surveying the area.

"So they traded it in for a tourist trap? Yeah, that makes sense," Superboy rolled his eyes, tucking his hands in his pockets as both Green Lantern and Glitch swooned over coolness of the boy's actions.

"If villains know of the Cave, we must be on constant alert," Miss Martian said worriedly, placing a hand to her chin.

The Boy Wonder grinned and took her hand, holding it in his as he eased her nerves."The bad guys know we know they know about the place, so they'd never think to look here."

Kid scowled at the contact between the pair and pulled Miss M's hand away, "He means we're hiding in plain sight."

"Ah, that's much clearer," Miss Martian replied, scratching her head as Robin and KF threw glares in each others direction.

"Plus, I doubt any villains are going to purposely walk into a room full of heroes," Green Lantern added as she cut between the two hormone-filled boys and pulled Miss M away before the two could go at her again.

"I smell smoke," Superboy changed the subject, causing Miss M to gasp in horror and break away from GL.

"My cookies!" She exclaimed, bounding back into the base with no other explanation. The team followed after her, entering the kitchen as the alien withdrew the blackened desserts from the oven with her telekinetic abilities. She sighed miserably as she set them up on the table before them dejectedly. "I was trying out Grandma Jone's recipe from episode seventeen of- ah, never mind."

"I'm sure they would've turned out great," Robin comforted, pointing to Kid as he began munching on the failed dessert loudly. "He doesn't seem to mind."

Kid stopped eating as he found everyone looking at him in disgust. He finished chewing and swallowed before explaining himself, "I have a serious metabolism."

"I'll make more?" Miss M offered, feeling much better after everyone's encouragement.

"It was sweet of you to make anything," Aqualad praised, wanting to make sure their newest teammate felt safe among the group.

"Thanks Aqualad," Miss M smiled. It seemed as if she was beginning to feel like she belonged.

"We're off duty," Aqualad responded, "Call me Kaldur'ahm. Actually, my friends call me Kaldur."

"I'm Wally," KF said coolly, leaning against the table as he specifically addressed their extraterrestrial teammate. "See, I already trust you with my secret ID, unlike Mr. Dark Glasses over here."

Robin frowned and set his hands on his hips as Wally called him out. Wally grinned at getting a rise out of his friend and expanded further, "Batman's forbidden Boy Wonder from telling anyone his real name."

"Mine's no secret. It's M'gann M'orzz, but you can call me Megan. It's an Earth name, and I'm on Earth now," Miss M smiled, obviously overwhelmed by the fact she was on Earth.

"Well you know mine," GL started, throwing her hands behind her head and leaning into them, "Emma Jordan if you guys didn't catch it."

"Perrine Chaput," Glitch said, noticing everyone's gaze turn towards her next. The team then turned to Superboy expectantly, seeing as he was the last to introduce himself. But as they turned their gaze, they only saw the clone's retreating back as he left the group unannounced.

Before he could leave completely though, he flinched. He whipped his head around and turned back at them angrily, "Get out of my head!"

Everyone's eyes widened in alarm or confusion until they heard Megan's voice invade their minds as well and then they understood. 'What's wrong? I don't understand. Everyone on Mars communicates telepathically.'

"M'gann, stop," Kaldur said forcefully as he and the others held their heads in discomfort. Megan reeled back, surprised by her effect on the group.

"Things are different on Earth," Emma explained with a grimace as she tried ridding herself of Megan's internal presence.

"Here your powers are an extreme invasion of privacy," Perrine glowered, deactivating the portal she had put up around herself to cut off Megan's connection.

"Besides," Wally began in a nicer tone, hoping to uplift Megan's spirit. "Cadmus' creepy little psychic g-gnomes left a bad taste in his brain."

Megan slumped with guilt as she turned back to Superboy, "I didn't mean to-"

"Just stay out!," Superboy warned gruffly, walking off in a storm as Megan felt even guiltier than before. She desperately thought of a way to make up for her mistakes. Besides burnt cookies. She slapped her head as she came up with an idea.

"Hello, Megan! I know what we can do!" she said, giving no further explanation as she flew off down the hall. The others looked to each other and followed her out warily.

Emma and Perrine took up the back, allowing for the former to spy the superpowered clone sulking in the corner. She left Glitch's side without a word and marched over to him. "Alright, Superboy. Let's go."

The giant stayed put, glaring at her childishly before moving his gaze to stare at the wall. Emma frowned and placed her hands on her hips as she tried again, "We're a team now, Superboy. We don't abandon our teammates."

"Fine," he said getting up without looking at her. Emma beamed and followed him out, catching up with the others as Megan presented her bio-ship.

"Cute," Wally said, frowning at the poor design, "Not aerodynamic, but cute."

Megan giggled at his reaction, "It's at rest silly. I'll wake it."

She raised a hand out as the ship began to swirl and vibrate, morphing into a new form. The sides began to fan out and extend, and the ship grew far larger than they thought was possible with its previously condensed form. The team stared in awe at the sleek space ship, causing Megan to turn it around so they could appreciate every profile. She opened up the entrance and led them inside as everyone toured the ship curiously.

"So is this like the equivalent of being the only high school student with a nice car?" Emma asked as Megan telepathically commanded the ship to reveal its controls.

"I guess so?" Megan answered doubtfully, "Everyone on Mars has one of these."

"Oh, great," Emma replied, leaning in towards Perrine. "I'll have to remember that one. 'Hey, Dad, can I have a car? But everyone on Mars has one.'"

Perrine snickered as Megan suggested they go for a spin. Seven chairs sprouted from the floor of the ship as Megan prepared the ship for take off. Emma and Perrine widened their eyes and sat down hurriedly. The two jumped along with the rest as chairs wound around them with buckles and strapped them in. Perrine squeaked in alarm and teleported herself into the middle of the ship, staring at her seat with startled eyes.

Emma snorted, quickly covering up her laugh. She was unable, however, to hide her very amused smile along with the rest of the team. Perrine blushed and walked purposely back to her seat, throwing up her hood as the seat wrapped around her once again.

"Ready to go?" Megan asked, taking attention away from Perrine as she received nods all around. She nodded back and eased her hands forward on the controls, "Hold on."

The ship rose into the air, taking off quickly, yet smoothly. The group stared out the windows in wonder at the view as Megan did a few tricks with her ship.

"Incredible," Robin exclaimed, smiling at Miss Martian.

Wally sighed in response, also admiring the Martian beauty from afar, "She sure is."'

Megan blushed and turned to him with a shy smile, making the red head flustered, "I-I mean the ship, which, like all ships, is a she."

"Fast with his feet, not so much with his mouth," Robin taunted, grinning as he finally got back at Wally for his previous sass.

"Dude!" Wally exclaimed, blushing as Megan laughed in response.

Meanwhile, Emma was smiling broadly at Perrine as she gripped her chair and closed her eyes, "You alright there?"

Perrine nodded, trying to keep her motion sickness under control. "Just flying. On a ship. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Emma muffled her laugh as the poor girl breathed heavily, turning a shade paler. She sympathized for her friend and sighed, "Here."

Emma unbuckled herself, much to the ship's displeasure as it thoroughly tried keeping her safe in her seat.

"Is there a problem?" Megan asked as Emma walked across the floor towards Perrine.

"Nah," Emma said, wrestling with Glitch's buckle this time. "Perry and I are just going out for a sec."

She pulled on the strap, finally managing to get Perrine free. She picked the girl up and steadied her, putting one of her arms over her shoulder. She waved bye as Perrine encased them in a black portal and they disappeared from the ship.

The two teleported beside the ship, catching the surprised faces of their teammates before being left behind in the dust. Emma surrounded herself in a green light, allowing her to float in midair as Perrine manifested a portal beneath her.

"Come on! Let's go!" Emma exclaimed, racing after the ship. She hurried ahead, feeling she was in the lead when a wispy, black comet zoomed past her. Emma stopped, jaw dropping at Glitch's flying form before working herself up. She refused to be last. Emma started up again, pushing herself to go faster as she caught up with Perrine and they darted past the ship and its occupants. She grinned competitively with Perrine, who could be seen riding within the comet of a portal. Emma looked back at the ship, seeing their awed expressions and decided to give them a show.

She pulled herself to the side, spinning circles around Perrine's comet. Perrine did the same, sensing the other's intentions and they created a breath-taking spiral in the sky.

"This is so fun!" Emma shouted gleefully, going off on her own and flipping through the sky as Perrine followed beside her.

"Hey! Watch this!" Emma called as she used her ring to mimic the form of a comet.

Perrine beamed and joined her in flying as they danced around each other like pups at play.

"Are you feeling better?" Emma shouted against the wind, earning an up and down flight pattern from Perrine as her response.

"Good," Emma beamed as the ship flew past them, heading towards the harbor.

"Come on," Emma said as she and Perrine caught up and flew on either side of the ship. They were heading closer to the harbor when the ship suddenly began to disappear.

"What?" Emma stopped in surprise, losing her comet-like appearance. She stared after where the ship had been as Glitch's comet shrunk around the girl and she reappeared beside Emma in her less extravagant form.

Perrine put her arm on Emma's shoulder before the other could ask another question and wrapped them within a portal. The next thing they knew, they were back inside the ship, standing beside Aqualad.

"Glad you could make it back," Aqualad said, having been genuinely worried they would lose the two when Megan decided to display her power of camouflage.

"Sorry," Megan apologized sheepishly from the Captain's seat, "I guess I didn't really think things through."

"It's okay," Emma assured, just happy to be back. She turned to Perrine and tilted her head curiously, "How did you know where they were?"

Perrine looked around, finding everyone's attention on her. She turned her gaze away from them and mumbled out an explanation, "My portals can connect to people if I know connect with them well enough."

The others nodded their heads in understanding, but Emma only gained a more bewildered expression. She smiled faintly, gaining a hint of an idea behind Perrine's explanation. She had purposely phrased her words in a simple manner, but Emma caught the unspoken words behind them. Perrine's eyes widened as she saw Emma's expression. She blushed and turned back to her seat, realizing her friend had caught on to her. Emma grinned broadly as Perrine's reaction confirmed her suspicions. She turned to Aqualad and smirked. It didn't seem that he realized it yet. He didn't get that Perrine hadn't teleported to the group, she had teleported to him.

Grinning victoriously, Emma skipped back to her seat, throwing playful, knowing smirks at her friend, who pulled up her hood in response to avoid the embarrassing situation.

"Red Tornado to Miss Martian: An emergency alert has been triggered at the Happy Harbor Power Plant," Red Tornado said, speaking to them over the monitor from within the Cave. "I suggest you investigate, covertly. I'm sending coordinates."

"Received," Megan replied, becoming serious as she checked the numbers, "Adjusting course."

"Hmph," Robin crossed his arms, "Tornado's keeping us busy again."

"Well," Megan began as the ship approached Happy Harbor. "A simple fire led you to Superboy. We should find out what caused the alert."

"I think I know the cause," Superboy said as they spotted the Power Plant and began to land. The team turned to him, seeing him staring out the furthest window. They followed his line of sight, catching eye of a freak twister wreaking havoc in the parking lot of the power plant.

Megan reeled the ship back, attempting to fly out of range, but the twister gained on them too quickly. It sucked them in, tossing them around as the team gripped for anything to keep them steady. Miss M grit her teeth and focused on orienting her spinning vision as she thrust her controls forward.

The ship moved towards the outer spirals of the twister and Megan used the chance to fly off on a tangent when she had the opportunity. She flew them all to safety and turned around, landing the ship and allowing everyone off.

Their eyes widened at the chaotic scene. Aqualad watched in relief as people fled from the tornado, fortunately no one getting caught inside. He turned to their youngest member, "Robin, are tornados common in New England?"

But as usual, the Boy Wonder was long gone. Megan's jaw dropped as she scanned the area, "But he was just here."

"Let's go," Aqualad ordered, eager to back up Robin as the windows of the building before them shattered. Once entering, they could see the cause of all this destruction. Fighting Robin was a red android with black streaks and a worn scarf.

The android thrust its fists forward as Robin ran at it. The machine expelled a powerful gust of wind from its attack, throwing Robin back and against the wall as his team ran to his side.

"Who's your new friend?" Superboy asked, scowling at the machine.

"Didn't catch his name, but he plays kind of rough!" Robin called after Superboy as he charged forward.

"My apologies," the machine chimed in, preparing another attack. "You may address me as Mister Twister."

He thrust his hands forward again, creating two smaller tornadoes that hurled themselves at the approaching Superboy. The indestructible clone struggled against the gales, but stood strong. If robots could smirk, surely Mister Twister would have as he manipulated the tornados to combine under the hero.

Superboy widened his eyes as his feet left the ground and he was propelled back. A portal opened up behind him, catching him before he could crash into anything. The portal transported him back to his teammates side, unharmed.

The team narrowed their eyes and readied themselves as Twister faced them. Wally was the first to confront the android as he sped forward in attack. He flipped just before the evil robot, propelling his legs forward in an attempt to hit the villain in the chest.

Twister moved his arm up calmly, blasting Wally back before he could land a hit. He captured the red head in a gale and turned, thrusting him out an open frame and down far into the field behind the building. Twister turned back as he received a team attack by Miss Martian, Aqualad, and Green Lantern.

The secondary machines on Twister's back beeped loudly as they launched another attack and three tornados appeared below the three heroes, throwing them back.

"I was prepared to be challenged by a superhero. I was not, however, expecting children," Mister Twister taunted as Glitch saved her teammates and helped them regain their footing.

Superboy charged in again at that moment, jumping towards the robot and throwing a heavy punch in his direction. Twister raised a hand again, pushing the clone back. Robin took advantage of his distraction and sent two explosive disks at the villain, "We're not children."

The Twister made no response as it manufactured two tornados as protection. The first disk was caught between the spinning winds and exploded in a fiery blaze. The Twister dismissed its shield, thinking the danger to be over when the second disk embedded itself in its chest.

Finally responding to Robin's earlier comment, the machine flicked the explosive device off its body, "Objectively, you are."

"Have you no adult supervision?" it continued, fending off an attack from Aqualad and Superboy.

Green Lantern pursued next, flying in with a devastating-looking axe. Twister formed another tornado as protection when suddenly it disappeared, gobbled up in an expanse of nothingness as Glitch backed up her teammate.

"Ha!" GL grunted as she brought her axe down over the machine. Once again, the machine's robotics beeped again and another twister was summoned from seemingly nowhere.

Green Lantern yelped as she was thrown to the side, meanwhile, Glitch rose and took her place. She pulled up a portal as Mister Twister turned his attention to her. She managed to hold off the winds for a while before Twister changed course. The winds wrapped around the portal and hit Glitch from both sides, spitting her high into the air.

"I find your presence here disturbing," Twister finished, turning back to the remaining members of the team.

"Well, we'd hate to see you disturbed," Robin replied angrily, "Let's see if you're more turbed once we kick your can!"

Miss M stepped forward, pulling down a machine above Twister with her telekinesis. The machine broke, spewing out steam and blocking the tornado-producing robot's vision.

Aqualad jumped forward, bearing two water scabbards in his hands as the steam dissolved into air. The Twister threw two more raging funnels at the Atlantean, forcing him back as Glitch appeared behind the android. She bent down low and kicked up. She muttered under her breath as she heard another beep from the machine, knowing where this was going.

Twister turned his attention forward as Glitch was hurled through the air. He raised his arm and caught the punch that Superboy threw at him. The machine on Twister's back beeped and Superboy was blown back and propelled through the wall by force alone.

Green Lantern flew around the side and twirled around as her ring created a ball and chain. She heaved as she condensed the weight of the ball and spun it forward. Mister Twister conjured up another cyclone to absorb the attack, but this time, the weight was too much. GL's weight sped forward, ramming into the machine with full force.

The robot bent around the ball, unable to disconnect itself from the weight. It activated its weapons and used a gust of air to separate itself from the ball, allowing Twister to escape. Twister hovered in midair as it narrowed its eyes at Green Lantern vengefully.

Green Lantern brought up a shield in preparation, only to have a cyclone appear from behind and thrust her into her own protective construct. She groaned painfully and held her head dizzily as Miss M and Robin tried a joint attack.

Robin propelled several disks at the machine first. As expected, two whirlwinds were produced as a defense. That's where Miss M came in. Mimicking her maneuvers with the ship previously, she rescued the projectiles from the swirling vortex and sent them back at Twister from different angles.

The robot brought its arms across its chest and curled into a ball as the projectiles exploded around it. A dark smoke surrounded the robot as Miss Martian and Robin looked on. The smoke began to dissipate, giving view of the unharmed silhouette of their enemy. Their eyes widened as it extended its arms forward in attack. They tried to move, but two tornados quickly blocked them, spinning them around and hurling them into each other.

"Indeed," Twister said, gazing upon the fallen heroes and moving to leave, "That was quite turbing."

"Thank you," it said, departing as the heroes recovered themselves. They picked themselves up painfully, each having taken a significant amount of beatings, but they sucked it up and followed after the villain determinedly. Outside, it seemed as if Wally had recovered and was fending off Twister until he was caught in another vortex and volleyed towards the building.

"I got you, Wally," Miss M said, saving him from the impact with her telekinesis.

"I would have thought you all learned your limitations by now," Mister Twister ridiculed from the far side of the field.

"What do you want?" Aqualad shouted, at the end of his rope.

"Isn't it obvious?" Twister asked, rising into the air. "I'm waiting for a real hero."

"Read his mind," Aqualad ordered, turning towards Megan. "Find a weakness."

"I already did! I couldn't get anything!" Megan exclaimed, stopping as a thought occurred to her. "Hello, Megan! Mister Twister is Red Tornado in disguise!"

Miss M beamed in delight at figuring the situation out, explaining further, "He's inorganic. An android. How many androids do you know that can generate tornados?"

"Red Tornado sent us here," Aqualad added, believing the conclusion.

"After saying we'd be tested soon enough," Robin chimed in frustrated, "This is his test! Something to keep us busy."

"Speedy called it. We're a joke," Kid said bitterly, looking down as their worst fears came true. Aqualad punched his fist into his hand angrily and turned on the robot.

"This game. So over," Wally glowered, approaching their enemy resentfully.

"Wait!" Glitch called after them, doubting their conclusion. "Ploy or not, do you really think the Justice League would approve of damaging property and endangering civilians?"

The group stopped, pondering the question themselves as the sky darkened above them and sinister-looking clouds swirled above. Aqualad's eyes widened as he looked up. His heart sunk as he saw Twister prepare a devastating attack on them. "Look out!"

The team formed what defense they could as a lightning bolt fell from the sky, creating a massive explosion that engulfed them all. The team fell to the ground incapacitated, all except for Superboy, whose powers made him the only one to withstand the blast. He tore off his charred jacket and jumped high. He roared angrily, pulling back a fist as Mister Twister fired off two more lightning bolts especially for him.

Superboy spasmed with the energy, falling to the ground unconsciously and creating a small crater in the ground as Megan regained herself.

The Twister loomed over them, hands radiating with electricity threateningly as he decided to finish off these tiny distractions. He was a few feet over them when they suddenly disappeared before his very eyes. He deactivated his powers and stood over them disdainfully, "Fine, then. I won't deny you children have power, but playing hide and seek with you will not help me achieve my objectives, so stay concealed. If you confront me again, I will show no mercy."

With that final threat, Twister left them, flying off into the distance as the team finally pulled themselves together enough to get up. They saw Twister flying away and asked what happened.

"I placed the bio-ship between us," Megan answered, receiving a violent response from Superboy as he punched apart a boulder beside him.

"And that's supposed to make it right?" he growled out, stalking towards her angrily. Perrine's eyes widened and she darted between the two, standing in front of Megan protectively.

"Superboy," Emma warned, telling him to back off.

"You tricked us into thinking Twister was Red Tornado," Superboy fumed, ignoring the two girls and bringing on more defense for Megan.

"She didn't do it on purpose," Kaldur argued, thinking that counted for something.

"It was a rookie mistake. We shouldn't have listened," Robin added, shifting the blame on themselves.

"You are pretty inexperienced," Wally said, slumping his shoulders as he turned to her. He lifted them, trying to fix her mood with a smile, "Hit the showers. We'll take it from here."

"Stay out of our way," Superboy threw in resentfully, passing her by with a glare. Both Perrine and Emma returned his glare full force as he ran off after the villain with Robin and Kid Flash.

"I was just trying to be part of a team," Megan said miserably, looking down and digging her nails into the dirt as Emma and Perrine fell to either side of her and comforted her.

Aqualad sighed, rubbing the back of his head, "To be honest, I'm not sure we really have a team."

"Don't listen to them," Emma ordered as Aqualad ran after the others. She moved in front of Megan and held her hand as she said this.

"They have a fear that the Justice League is distracting them so that we are busy enough to remain in good behavior," Perrine explained, sitting down to the side of the Martian. "So they took that fear out on you."

"It's not your fault. If you hadn't said something, I would've come to the same conclusion," Emma grinned despite the lie. All that mattered is that Megan felt safe with the team. It was obvious that she and Perrine felt the bad experience would be enough to make the Martian want to return home.

Megan smiled softly, grateful for their words. She tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled weakly, "You guys should go. They need you more than they need me."

"We can get there anytime we want," Emma said indignantly, gesturing to Perrine. She frowned, annoyed that Megan was trying to get rid of them.

"You are," Perrine began, meeting Megan's eyes sincerely, "a part of our team."

Emma nodded, feeling like Perrine has summed up their pep talk well enough. She stood, understanding that they _did_ have to go. She smiled down at Megan as Perrine got up off the ground and joined her, "You just don't realize it yet. Take some time to fix yourself up. We'll be waiting for you."

Perrine nodded her agreement and opened up a portal behind them. Emma turned towards her playfully, whispering in her ear as they fell through the void. "I wonder who we'll end up beside."

She lost sight of Perrine for that second in the void, but when they reentered the scene, she was blushing deeply, glaring and pouting. Emma looked beside them, spying Aqualad regaining himself from a pile of debris. She burst out laughing, deepening Perrine's blush as neither made a move to help their fallen comrade. Perrine simmered in response, clenching her fists, "Quiet! It could've easily been you if you had decided to join the team!"

"Sure, Perry," Emma said doubtfully, still giggling with glee when a very toned body fell into her. Now, it was Perrine's turn to laugh. She pointed at Emma's disgruntled face as Superboy groaned over her, moving painfully as he held his head.

Before either could make another comment, Perrine was tackled to the ground as Aqualad shouted for everyone to take cover. Emma's eyes widened as a boat flew into the sky, falling directly above them. Her breath hitched as she untangled herself from the clone as quickly as possible. Spotting the danger himself, Superboy crouched over her, protecting her with his body as the boat made impact.

"Now is not the time to be telling jokes," Aqualad reprimanded them as both Glitch and Green Lantern made it out of the wreck unharmed. Glitch blushed and nodded, picking herself up as Superboy threw a glare at Emma. Both he and Aqualad rushed forward again, and GL stuck her tongue out after them.

"Let's go," Glitch said, falling through the ground in a swirl of black energy. Emma blew her hair out of her face and ran forward, transforming her ring into a slide, catching Superboy and guiding him to the ground as Mister Twister brushed him off.

"We're even now," GL said, going ignored as the superpowered boy dashed forward again. GL shrugged and formed a meteor hammer, twisting it around and sending it towards the robot.

Twister created a whirlwind, catching the leaded ball and directing it towards Superboy. GL's eyes widened as she brought her hands to her mouth in horror. She flinched as her weapon connected with Superboy sending him back a ways. He swatted the weapon away once he was on the ground and glared at her furiously.

"What?" she mouthed, gathering her weapon back and trying again, only to be blown away as Twister directed a tornado at her.

A portal grew beneath the robot, sucking it in until it activated it's flying abilities. It rose into the air as Aqualad took the chance to cast an engine at the robot. Twister sucked the engine into a vortex and redirected it at the Atlantean.

Aqualad gasped and held his hands up to catch it. He groaned as the engine slammed against him, causing him to tumble down the road painfully.

Another portal opened above Twister and this time both Robin and Kid Flash fell through it, targeting the machine. Robin threw several projectiles at the robot as it registered their presence. It conjured up another cyclone, encompassing the weapons and moving them around the boys. Both widened their eyes in alarm and brought up their hands in defense as a few of the projectiles exploded. They shouted, flying back as Glitch caught either of them in a portal and delivered them safely back on the ground.

Twister located her and summoned another whirlwind, using it to throw her into the exterior of a building. Glitch yelped and fell to the ground as Superboy jumped under the robot, trying to drag it down. The robot lurched in surprise by the added weight and directed its attack below its body. Superboy held on tightly as the winds pushed him back. Twister kicked him and shook him off, adding another cyclone to slam him into the ground. Superboy grit his teeth, getting up with the rest when Megan's voice entered their heads, _"Listen to me, all of you."_

"What did we tell you?!" Superboy replied angrily as each of them held their heads in discomfort, vainly covering their ears as if that would stop a telepathic connection.

_"I know!"_ Megan responded, _"I know I messed up, but now I'm very clear on what we need to do. Please, trust me."_

"Atta girl, Megan," Green Lantern encouraged, running off to hide while Miss M relayed the plan. The others followed suit, hiding from Twister's sight as they smiled over the plan.

"Alright," Aqualad said after Megan had finished, "Let's get started."

Just as he said this though, Red Tornado appeared, called on by the devastating whirlwinds wreaking havoc on the town. He located the group and flew down in front of them, "Hit the showers, kids. I was hoping you could handle this. Clearly, you cannot."

"But we have a plan now," Robin defended childishly as Twister looked on calmly, stopping his attack briefly.

"The subject is not up for debate," Tornado said finally, causing the team to bow their heads and walk off dejectedly.

"I was beginning to believe you'd never show up," Mister Twister said, taking the hero's attention.

"I am here now," Red Tornado replied, forming a twister of his own. He moved it towards the other android as it defended itself with a whirlwind of its own. Both twisters diffused as their winds worked against each other, canceling each other out.

Twister took initiative and sent another tornado at his opponent. Red Tornado raised his hand and moved the foreign whirlwind out of his way. He created another tornado behind him and brought it forward, "We are evenly matched, Twister."

"No, Tornado. We are not," the enemy replied darkly, punching a hole into the ground, and causing a stream of wind to rise along with the rocks broken from the ground. The more powerful twister eliminated Tornado's and Twister brought his hands before him, firing off torrents of electricity. Red Tornado rose from the ground, flying nimbly to avoid the damage. He ducked behind one of the fallen boats and Twister sent his energy towards it. The boat exploded as the currents moved through its gas compartments. Tornado was blasted back, falling to the ground limply as Twister approached him. It seemed as if the two _were_ outmatched.

"Remain still, android," Twister said threateningly, raising his hand as his finger transformed into wires and assaulted Tornado's body. "Reprogramming won't take long."

Tornado smiled, unusual given the situation and the fact that the robot was incapable of such an action. He turned his head and seized the wires as his head became green and he grew long red hair. Megan smiled up from beneath him as she undid her shape shifting, startling Twister immensely, "Longer than you might think."

"No," Twister stepped back as Miss Martian narrowed her eyes and pushed him back with her powers. Another twister came up behind him, throwing him before slowing down to reveal itself as the devilish speedster.

"Got him," Green Lantern smiled as her ring formed several arms like an octopus and restrained the living machinery.

"Hold him down," Superboy smirked, letting loose on the robot. He pounded into it, damaging it's parts considerably. GL let go as Twister took a moment to recover himself. Meanwhile, Superboy was prepared his final attack. He punched a hole through the android and threw him into the harbor where Aqualad waited below. He swung forward with a piece from one of the boats and embedded it into the robot. He charged up his own electric attack, and returned Twisters favor from before.

Twister was thrown from the water, landing hardly against the ground. Miss Martian stepped forward with the rest as she picked him up and held him in the air with her telekinesis. Glitch moved closer, forming a portal between the joints of the android's arms and dismantling them to pieces.

Robin followed after her, throwing a disk that sent an electric shock through Mister Twister, disabling all of his functions as Megan, once again, allowed the bot to fall hard against the ground.

The team gathered around their defeated opponent as it's torso opened up to reveal a very drained man operating the machine from inside. He crawled out of his creation, looking up at the heroes pathetically, "Foul. I call foul."

The team glared at him disapprovingly as Megan summoned a large rock from the ground, unbeknownst by the team. She raised it over their heads and moved it over the man as the team's eyes widened in horror.

"M'gann!" Kaldur yelled, using her real name as he tried to move her away.

"No!" Emma screamed simultaneously, activating her powers to save him, but she was too late. The rock fell over the man and crushed him to death.

"Don't know how things are done on Mars, but on Earth, we don't execute our captives!" Robin turned on her angrily as her action went against everything Batman had ever taught him.

She smirked in response, "You said you'd trust me."

Megan moved the rock off the man to show her point. They turned, surprised to see the pieces of another destroyed android in place of the man. Megan explained, "That's why I couldn't read his mind."

Wally bent down, picking up an intact eye from the machine. He tossed it into the air and caught it with a grin, "Cool! Souvenir!"

"We should have had more faith in you," Aqualad amended, putting a hand on her shoulder and apologizing for everything he had done to her.

Megan smiled happily as Wally added in, "Yeah! You rocked this mission! Get it? Rocked?"

"Oh," Emma flinched at the terrible joke, gaining a look of disgust. "Haven't we had enough suffering for today?"

Wally frowned, crossing his arms and glaring at the girl as Robin laughed, turning to Megan, "Ignore him. We're all just turbed you're on the team."

Megan smiled again at the second compliment as Aqualad ordered them to recover the androids and head back to base.

* * *

At the base, Red Tornado had met up with the team for a debriefing as they presented the remains of their opponent.

"It was clearly created to either sabotage or destroy you," Aqualad revealed, basing his conclusion on the fact that Twister had targeted Red Tornado from the beginning.

"Agreed," Red Tornado said, studying the parts.

"Is that why you wouldn't help us?" Megan asked, wondering if he knew from the start.

"No, this was your battle," Tornado clarified, "I do not believe it is my role to solve your problems for you. Nor should you solve mine for me."

"But if you're in danger," Megan argued, able to find reason with what he said, but becoming worried as she saw the flaws in that line of thought.

"Consider the matter closed," Red Tornado cut off, turning away and heading to his quarters.

"Any one of our mentors and they would've jumped right in to fix things," Wally commented as their supervisor began to leave.

"Guess if we're going to have a babysitter, a heartless machine is exactly what we need," Robin thought aloud, gesturing to Tornado.

"Dude, harsh," Wally whispered, frowning at his friend.

"And, inaccurate," Red Tornado informed as he stopped at the doorway, making Robin jump in alarm. "I have a heart, carbon-steel alloy. I also have excellent hearing."

"Right, sorry," Robin apologized sheepishly, trying to cover himself. "I'll strive to be more accurate."

"And more respectful," Kaldur reprimanded, placing a hand on the younger boy's shoulder.

Red Tornado nodded and turned out of the room as the team split up into groups. Wally, Robin, and Kaldur moved towards the zeta tube transporters as they began conversing.

"Speedy was so wrong," Wally smiled, feeling very relieved that their worst fear was no longer validated.

"This team thing," Robin began.

"Might just work out," Kaldur finished, having regained his faith in the matter.

Superboy passed by Megan, stopping and looking at her warily. He ducked his gaze, mumbling out an apology before continuing on. Megan smiled at his retreating form when Emma came up behind her, dragging an amused Perrine behind her. She wrapped an arm around Megan's shoulder and brought her in close, "So, ET, what do you say we grab some food and show you around Earth?"

"That sounds amazing!" Megan spun excitedly, forgetting about Superboy as she clasped her hands together in glee.

"Alright then," Emma said animatedly, letting go of both girls as Perrine opened a portal for them. Emma turned, spying Superboy retreating into the back. She called after him, inviting him in on the fun, "Hey, Superboy! You too! We promised we'd show you the world."

Superboy turned, remembering back to the week before when they had rescued him from Cadmus. Perrine and Megan turned around, smiling at him encouragingly as they hoped he would go. Superboy turned, saying nothing as he joined up with them, making the girls smile brighter. Emma and Perrine linked arms as they walked through the portal, and Megan grabbed Superboy's arm in anticipation. She led them through the portal, eager to see the new world and new friends that awaited beyond.

* * *

**A/N: Hey guys, so as some of you know, I had finals this month and that's why this chapter is so delayed. College is not fun. But anyways, thanks for waiting and I'll start working on the next chapter tonight. Next chapter, will have new OCs.**

**Once again, if you are new to the story and are thinking of submitting an OC, please read the updates on the form in the first chapter. I look forward to seeing your submission.**


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